Many of us lead extraordinarily busy, stressful lives in distinctly urban environments, often lacking any contact with mother nature. City life is undoubtedly exciting and upbeat, but studies have shown that missing out on the benefits of the stimuli present in nature can affect our mental wellbeing and happiness levels, and could actually be crucial to us living a balanced and fulfilled life.

But does nature really need to exist in our own ‘modern’ lives in order to make us happy and mentally well? The BBC Earth team believed this to be the case, and set about validating their theory. In conjunction with The University of California Berkeley they studied the effects on people’s emotions of watching episodes of the nature documentary series Planet Earth II, with study groups involved from global areas as diverse as Europe, India and Australia. What they found was that viewing these clips of nature actually promoted “significant increases in feelings of awe, contentedness, joy, amusement and curiosity”, but also reduced “feelings of tiredness, anger and stress” (read the findings here).

It is certainly beneficial to immerse ourselves in nature from time to time, even watching nature on film can help us to achieve a more positive mental state, but is it actually possible to improve our mental wellbeing by simply listening to the sounds in nature? There are many soothing sounds gleaned from nature which can be bought to provide a background ambient soundtrack to be played at home, in the car, or even at work. Rainforest sounds, surf sounds, gentle bird song – are all supposedly beneficial and relaxing – but do they actually work to actively promote a better mental state of wellbeing?

Brighton and Sussex Medical School researchers wanted to find out, so set about investigating this further by giving subjects two sets of sounds to listen to (natural and artificial) while recording their brain activity on an MRI scanner. Subjects were also given tasks to perform during the experiment to measure attention and reaction time.

They found that the sounds from nature produced brain activity associated with outward-directed focus as well as higher rest-digest nervous system activity associated with a relaxed body state. There was also an improvement in facilitating external attentional monitoring tasks and mental concentration. The artificial sounds created an inward-directed focus of attention – which is brain activity associated with negative states of mind including anxiety, worry, and depression. Interestingly, subjects responded better to sounds from nature that they were familiar with.

“We are all familiar with the feeling of relaxation and ‘switching-off’ which comes from a walk in the countryside,”  said the studies leading author Dr Cassandra Gould van Praag. “And now we have evidence from the brain and body which helps us understand this effect.”

These results have been supported by other studies in the field of psychology, indicating any immersion in to the world of nature can greatly improve mental wellbeing. One such study by a PhD psychology student at the University of British Colombia focused on small outcrops of nature in the urban environment, where participants in the study were asked to document and photograph examples of nature in their daily routine and record how they felt about them.

Holli-Anne Passmore who conducted the study said: “This is about the tree at a bus stop in the middle of a city and the positive effect that one tree can have on people.”

Another group photographed human built artefacts, and there was also a control group. Her findings were significant.

“Post-intervention levels of net positive affect, elevating experiences, a general sense of connectedness (to other people, to nature and to life as a whole) and prosocial orientation were significantly higher in the nature group compared to the human-built and control groups” she concluded in her paper.

Nature is literally amazing, it is all around us, but we just need to spend more time observing it. Watching my four-year-old son stop in the street to examine a dandelion growing in between the cracks in the pavement, or to observe an ant scurrying about its business brings a smile not just to his face, but to mine too. He looks at the sky – the moon and stars at night, and the clouds in the day – while I am usually poring over the path ahead, my vision filled with the grey urban landscape. I should learn from him, noticing the natural world is always a wonderful experience and we should all do it a lot more if we want to be happy – even if it is just to watch nature from a distance on our laptop or television screens, or by letting our minds associate with the familiar sounds of nature by listening to it on our stereos or phones. It could be the secret of a contented existence.

Further reading:

Indigenous people and nature: a tradition of conservation

The Mental Health of Aboriginal Peoples: Transformations of
Identity and Community

Listen to the BBC Earth podcast on BBC Sounds, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.

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Ever fancied jumping into bed for a duvet day with a celebrity? You’d get to find out what their bedroom looks like, what pulls them under the duvet, their weird sleep habits and how they got out of bed during the tough times.

In Duvet Days, Abby Hollick jumps into bed with special guests for unfiltered, honest chat. You can listen in as musicians and artists open up about mental health, fame, recovery, childhood and relationships. In this longform interview series, Abby discusses what a ‘duvet day’ means to Emeli Sande, Munroe Bergdorf, Nicola Coughlan, Joel Golby, Camilla Thurlow, Yrsa Daley-Ward, Yola, Rosie Jones, Laura Dockrill, Hannah Cockroft, Lemn Sissay and Ray BLK.

The podcast has recently returned for series 2 so we sat down with Abby to ask her a few questions…

What is it about podcasts that appeals to you?

A mate in your ear. It’s company on a long journey or while I’m in the bath. I also love learning more about people I admire and investigating how our minds work – using podcasts as free therapy basically! Podcasts are also a chance for the world to hear stories from people who have been silenced or ignored for too long.

If you could go back to just before you recorded the first episode of your podcast and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? 

Don’t record for hours as you have to edit this Abby! Also, It’s ok to say ‘sorry my arm has gone dead I just need to put the mic in the other hand’! For some reason I was embarrassed to say this and would stay fixed in this painful, rigid position.

Abby with Paralympian Hannah Cockroft

What makes a great podcast guest?

Funny, vulnerable, open and hopefully saying something for the first time. Someone who says it like it is and is a bit of a maverick or someone who has survived something extraordinary and has some wisdom on how to do life and cope. Also, guests whose stories and experiences have been shut out of mainstream radio for too long.

What makes a great podcast host?

A woman! I was desperate to hear more women, back in the day the longform interview podcast was dominated by men but thankfully that’s changed. I want to think the host is my friend, so a good listener and someone who asks insightful follow-up questions. I’m not surprised so many comedians have podcasts as a funny host with outrageous anecdotes is always a laugh and you want to be in the pub with them.

What’s been your worst podcast moment?

I mean I live in fear of not pressing record. When I flew to Ireland to interview Nicola Coughlan I made her tell me she could see the red light and I had pressed record before we started, as I couldn’t go all the way to Galway and mess up! I’ve definitely had tough moments when I’ve asked questions and been told ‘I don’t want to go there’ and felt like I was being too intrusive but I just apologise and say fair enough. I’m not going to stop asking the questions I think listeners want to hear.

What is your podcast/podcaster pet peeve?

It annoys me that I can’t listen to podcasts when I am editing my own podcast as I feel podcasted out. Also I say ‘so’ a lot which irritates me when I edit myself. Its also a peeve if a group of friends on a podcast all talk over each other and share ‘in-jokes’ and I feel left out.

Is there anything you found annoying as a podcast listener… but then understood when you started making your own?

I used to think ‘why didn’t the host ask this or follow-up on that?’ but when you’re in the hot seat and being the interviewer your mind can go blank or you can worry about the time pressure, your battery power etc and you can make these mistakes so I am now less judgmental as a listener. Kirsty Young is the queen of the follow-up!

Previous guest Emeli Sandé

Which one podcast episode of your own means the most to you?

It means a lot when anyone says yes to be honest as they are trusting me to sit on their bed and chat about such personal stuff but I am really proud of Laura Dockrill’s episode as she was so open about suffering from postnatal psychosis, recovery and CBT therapy. I was extremely moved by her and full of admiration and I think it’s one of the most extraordinary descriptions of a mind exploding and then she pieces it back together again. Also, she’s hilarious and our babies were born around the same time. Both her and Joel Golby, whose parents died by the time he was 25, don’t feel sorry for themselves at all and use humour to explain really traumatic things, I loved meeting them. It was also huge for me to interview Christine and the Queens the day after her gig as I am such a fan and that gig blew my mind, I went with a friend who didn’t know her and we both left shaking – her dancing is out of this world!

Which one podcast episode (not of your own) has had the biggest impact on you?

One?! Ok out of Maya Angelou on Oprah’s podcast, Robin Williams on WTF with Marc Maron, Zadie Smith and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on the New York Public Library, Aisling Bea on Griefcast, Zadie Smith on Adam Buxton and Toure Show (can you tell I love Zadie Smith) and Ellen Burstyn on Death Sex and Money… I am going to go with Ellen Burstyn’s ‘Lessons on Survival’.

Finally, what are your plans for the podcast moving forward?

Ooh that’s a question for BBC Sounds! Season 3 hopefully as I’m hitting my stride now and I’d love to interview Lizzo. And Michaela Coel and Jill Soloway.

Listen to the Duvet Days archive on BBC Sounds, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.

Read our other World Mental Health Day 2022 suggested posts.

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How do you go about bettering an already popular and very respected podcast? Well, comedian Rich Wilson has done just that. His show, Insane In The Men Brain has addressed men’s mental health since the start of 2019 with an array of guests who have openly spoken about their mental health journeys, but now Rich takes on a new spin-off project in the form of Insane In The Fem Brain.

So what inspired this transition?

RW: Well, Fem Brain came from a conversation I had with Jayde Adams. Jayde was of the opinion that although I’m not completely in the dark, I maybe didn’t know as much as I thought I did about women – so I decided that the only way to learn more was to go and talk to women, particularly strong, successful women that have got where they wanted to be even though the world is still a very male dominated place. It’s been truly enlightening and I’ve really enjoyed recording the episodes.

With a mandate to learn more about the opposite sex, Rich shows humility to the fact that he is here to listen, so what has he learned over the course of series one of the show?

RW: The whole point of my podcasts is that I’m learning things. I’m talking to people from different backgrounds, different classes, different faiths, different cultures because I want to know more. It’s all about the guests that I have in, not a platform for me to bang on about myself. I feel so different to how I did when I first started. I just feel I understand people a lot more and I’ve come to realise that everyone, no matter where they’re from, is just figuring it all out as we go along. Nobody really knows what’s going on nor does anyone have any answers.

With no signs of stopping, Rich has a clear direction in where he’d like to take the podcast and inspiration behind making more episodes.

RW: I’d just love to reach more people and not from a “I want to be famous” kind of way. I get so many messages from people who’ve said that my podcasts have really helped them which blows my mind so if that’s the case, I’d love to help more people.

Why is it so important to keep this mental health conversation going?

RW: Stigmas are being lifted – but we still need to do more. We may not be the generation that benefits from it but future generations will and this is why it’s important that we’ve started this, and also why it’s important that we carry on. The world is a mad old place and you’d have to be made of stone for it not to affect you, but if we keep talking to each other, at least we can help each other through.

Rich would like to raise awareness of the National Suicide Prevention Alliance, an alliance of public, private, voluntary and community organisations in England who care about suicide prevention and are willing to take action to reduce suicide and support those affected by suicide. www.nspa.org.uk.

Listen to Insane In The Fem Brain on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.

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Do men really talk? We’re currently facing a major mental health challenge in society with suicide being the biggest killer of men
under the age of 45, so what can we do to make sure we’re really airing our thoughts and fears?

Comedian Russell Kane hosts the podcast Man Baggage where he talks to celebrities and an array of people in efforts to tussle with the real problems that men face. So, how does Russell personally feel about male mental health and how does he like to handle the subject?

RK: Men’s mental health – it’s an iceberg problem. Most of it is hidden – and incredibly deadly. There is a space to use humour and banter to get a certain type of man to engage. That’s the area I’m interested in.

There’s a new episode each Tuesday where Russell leaves no topic off the table! The podcast was previously titled Boys Don’t Cry and this title also perfectly summarised many of the issues that the podcast is inherently about. At what point did Russell personally decide that he wanted to do more for men’s mental health?

RK: When I saw, finally, that the long needed conversation around men’s mental health was beginning – but that it was somewhat dominated by worthiness. There is nothing wrong with worthiness – but a certain type of working-class man is put off by the seriousness of it.

The Russell Kane’s Man Baggage podcast blurb rather wonderfully says it all:

“Russell and his guests explore all the uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing conversations that usually make men run for the door by doing what blokes do best – make daft jokes about them.

Are men biologically more reckless? Are women naturally more assertive than men? Should all men wear a watch? Thought provoking, insightful and laugh out loud funny, Man Baggage takes you to all the best places.”

As Russell points out, as the host he tries to make the conversations funny, accessible and engaging so that we can all partake in the themes. It’s often the case that men can avoid emotional baggage, hence the need for the podcast – what are his personal highlights?

RK: Easily – the episode about heights. I cannot believe what a divisive topic it is to men and women, to reflect on how tall they are, and how much insecurity and toxicity lies beneath it.

What more can we do – what advice would Russell personally give to make sure that we carry on these conversations?

The number one piece of advice I gave to all blokes is check in twice. Most men will tell you everything is okay, so you’re gonna need to be a little bit annoying when you’re checking in with a friend you’re worrying about. Don’t worry about being annoying, you might save his life.

Listen to Russell Kane’s Man Baggage now on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts.

This article was first written in August 2021 and featured in Issue #016 of the Pod Bible Magazine. Subscribe to the magazine so you never miss an issue. 

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Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

My name is Tom and I’m the host of The Proper Mental Podcast. The idea behind the podcast is to normalise open and honest conversations about mental health by having those types of conversations. It’s not a sad stories podcast, it’s actually quite light hearted and very conversation based. My goal is to be relatable to anyone listening and to encourage people to ask for help if they need it and speak up if they want to.

I’ve spoken to people from the telly, Olympic athletes, local community leaders and even members of my own family and all these stories have things in common and that’s where the relatability comes in. I’ve also done specific episodes about things like medication with people who are qualified to talk about these things. I use Proper Mental to explore all the different aspects of mental health and mental illness and I want the podcast to become a resource for anyone who needs it.

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

Distraction Pieces with Scroobius Pip. I wasn’t even sure what a podcast was before Pip started! I’ve been listening to his show from very early on and I still enjoy listening now.

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

Hearing other people talk openly about their own struggles with mental health helped me to realise that I wasn’t alone in feeling the way I did and inspired me to start talking about my own experiences. Once I opened up, I realised how powerful conversation can be and how much can be gained from shared experience. I wanted to do something to help other people and to break down some of the mental health related stigma that can stop people getting the help they need. The one thing I’ve always been good at is talking so a podcast just made sense!

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

I’m a big fan of The Fight Disciples and I love how they stand out in a very crowded area of podcasting by being authentic and passionate. It’s awesome that they don’t rely on guests and it’s based purely on conversation rather than interviews and is still really popular. That’s tough to do and they are brilliant at it! I also love Life in the Stocks. Matt has built up a really big podcast in a very organic way and by staying completely away from mainstream guests. He only talks to people he’s into and that really comes out in the conversations. His back catalogue is brilliant and incredibly varied!

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

Possibly the biggest (no pun intended) mental health advocate is Tyson Fury. Him being so open really did bring a huge amount of awareness to mental health and despite him being the Heavyweight Champion of the World, his story isn’t particularly different to millions of other people, which is what makes him so relatable. Plus, he doesn’t do many podcasts so it would be an exclusive!

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

Don’t worry about trying to get celebrity guests or big names. If you’re engaging in authentic conversations that are relevant to your audience, then people will get on board. I’ve chatted to influencers with thousands of followers, award winners and sports stars but my most downloaded episode by a mile is one I recorded with my Aunty, who’s a nurse. Also, if you’re using Zoom make sure you’ve got decent WIFI! I definitely learned this one the hard way!

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

The episode I get the most messages and emails about is actually a bonus episode I recorded with my wife. I have shared my own mental health journey in an early episode so we recorded a follow up where we chatted about how my illness affected her and our family. It seemed to resonate with so many people and it’s a very good representation of what Proper Mental is all about. It’s a side of mental health that isn’t really explored but it’s not just those struggling who are impacted by mental illness and it felt like an important conversation to have.

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

Proper Mental comes out every Monday, and often on a Thursday, on all the usual podcast platforms. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast.

Listen to Proper Mental now on SPOTIFY and your favourite podcast app.

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Mental health is an issue that we’re all beginning to talk more about, but what exactly gave Yvette and Ellen the seeds of inspiration to start a podcast about mental health?

Yvette: Both Ellen and I have long term mental health issues, we know how isolating it can feel. We’ve both written about mental health and this felt like the next step. We’ve covered everything from schizophrenia to anxiety and borderline personality, and we’ve had celebrity guests including Ruby Wax, Audley Harrison, Kelly Holmes and Rose McGowan.

Ellen: Back in 2017, when we started the podcast, I was in the middle of a personal series about my own mental health journey, called Getting Better, and the response was incredible. I was getting messages every day from people thanking me for speaking up and saying that as a result of my articles they had gone to the doctor and finally asked for help, so podcasting felt like the perfect medium because it’s intimate. You can hear people telling their stories in their words.

Collecting memories along the way, the podcast has also taken to the stage:

Y: I’ll never forget our first Mentally Yours Live – a panel event in which top speakers Natasha Devon, Matthew Todd, Carl Anka and Dr Pragya Agarwal discussed mental health and work. We had a great turnout and it was brilliant to meet listeners in person. One listener in particular said it had really helped her when she was off work, which meant a lot.

E: My favourite episodes are always the ones where we talk to someone with a radically different experience to our own. Talking about mental illness when you yourself are struggling can bring up a lot of emotional stuff and it can be draining. I’ve recorded some episodes then gone home and cried because it resonated too much. I’ve had to learn how to decompress after each episode and be aware that listening is emotionally challenging.

As ever with podcasts, there can often be guests and topics that the hosts would love to get stuck into, so what would those topics be fore Mentally Yours?

Y: I’d love to have Mariah Carey on. She has bipolar disorder and it would be interesting to hear how she’s managed it throughout her life and career. I’m a huge fan too, so I’d just like an excuse to talk to her to be honest.

E: I would love to cover psychopathy. It’s another area that I have preconceptions about that I would love to have challenged, and ‘psychopath’ is such a strong label that it would be so powerful to have someone come on, say they identify with that label, and explain what it means to me

And what may the future hold for the podcast?

Y: As well as more great guests and interesting topics I’d love to host more live events and to also do some episodes out on location too. There’s a lot of great projects going on and it would be good to go to them if we can.

E: I’d like to chat to someone in the government and funding side of things to get their perspective on why on earth mental health care still isn’t being properly funded. We’ve had a mental health nurse, and someone who set up a ‘poetry pharmacy’ to prescribe poems to people struggling – I like what we’re doing at the moment, which is coming at mental illness from different angles.

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Listen to Mentally Yours, on ACAST, SPOTIFY and OTHER PLATFORMS. Read more Good Samaritan articles in the Pod Bible magazine, which you can read online or buy in our shop.

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For the entire month of May, in a series called “Where’s your head at?” on my Distraction Pieces Podcast, I’m going to be taking to people about how the pandemic has impacted their mental health and how they feel as we start to come out the other end.#mentalhealth pic.twitter.com/W0aUyHcnIX

— Scroobius Pip (@Scroobiuspipyo) April 26, 2021

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