Heavy Mental Podcast

In this week's episode, we chat with Jack Keogh, a mens style blogger from South Wales who, in the face of adversity, turned his life around with the help of human connection. Jack has now been clean and sober for five years and we're positive that this episode will serve as a complete inspiration for anyone facing their darkest day with addiction. In an honest and open account, Jack talks about how as a child living in fear and disconnect from himself and everyone else, he turned into a man with the same afflictions, but gained a battle with drugs and alcohol so intense, that it stripped his life bare of anything worth caring about. Both of us have been really touched, educated and inspired by Jack's story, and we think you will be too. This is a first-hand account of what living as an addict is really like. Leila + Rhys X

First off, check out The Beats on Facebook. If you want to see a video of them in action, click here. You can find their IG page here. For more information about OCD, the NHS can point you in the right direction here. As Damo said during the episode, OCD Action is also another great resource for support. Rhys X

The light-emitting earbuds I reference during the episode are called "HumanChargers" and you can find out more about them, here. If you've used them and have had any success, please get in touch. The song I butchered during this episode is called "The Worst Is Yet To Come" and is by the metalcore band Still Remains. If you wanted to know what 2005 sounded like, you can find out here. Rhys X

The author referenced at the beginning of the episode is named Emily Maroutian and you can find out more about her and her fantastic work on her website here.

*RHYS' BRAIN* Hmmm, that’s a weird rash? Wonder what’s caused that... I’ll just Google it... OH MY GOD IT’S LEPROSY?! I’M DYING OF LEPROSY! Ring any bells? In this episode, Rhys speaks about his intricate relationship with "Health Anxiety", which is as true to form as it sounds. To suffer from this nasty mental malady, is to have an entirely unhealthy amount of worry about your personal health, to the point that it can (and probably will) make you physically ill. As always, delivered with a humorous tone, it’s an honest account of how the mind can play cruel tricks on you — and as discussed during the episode — it resulted in Rhys willingly offering himself up (and paying) for numerous rectal examinations...if you want to get to the bottom of exactly what happened and understand what it feels like to suffer from Health Anxiety, press play now. Leila X

If you wanted to find out more about stoicism, I recommend reading this book by Ryan Holiday called "The Daily Stoic". It's really easy-to-read and jam-packed full of wisdom. Oh, you came here because you wanted to find out more about "the death of a thousand cuts", didn't you? Well, you can read about that here. Rhys X

You can find out more about **Sleep Awareness Week **here. The "ChronoCity" mentioned in the episode is a town called Bad Kissingen, Germany. You can read more about the concept in a Guardian long read article, here. The book mentioned a couple of times during the episode is "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker. The **Derren Brown **documentary referenced — which is well worth a watch — is called "Sacrifice" and you can find it on Netflix. The Arianna Huffington Ted Talk referenced about the importance of sleep is called "How To Succeed? Get More Sleep" and you can watch it here. During the episode, I meant to say "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs" but for some reason, said "Lazlow" — who was, in fact, a fictional DJ on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Easy mistake to make, I think you'll all agree. Rhys X

Now for the responsible bit. If you do feel like your relationship with alcohol needs a little helping hand, there are plenty of brilliant resources to get you back on track, naming just a few: Drink Aware - https://www.drinkaware.co.uk UK Addiction Treatment - https://www.ukat.co.uk/about-us/ And of course, if you're in the UK, talk to our amazing NHS - https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-support/

BOOKS MENTIONED: Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. SOCIALS: Instagram: @heavymentalpod Facebook: @heavymentalpod