By Niamh Byrne
Minding Your Own Self is a new mental health and social benefit podcast on RICC Radio hosted by Helen Walsh, who has a vast experience within this field. With a background in counselling studies in Maynooth University, life coaching and child psychology, Helen is well experienced so she decided to share her knowledge and also chat in depth with people who often come from diverse backgrounds, but share a common purpose: to raise awareness, share personal experiences, and provide valuable insights into mental well-being.
Helen first started off as a personal trainer. She soon realised that putting people on a weighing scale is only the start of the process. Her clients confided in her with questions she wasn’t equipped to answer about their childhood or things they were going through in their current lives and this inspired Helen to branch out her career and attend a counselling course in Maynooth University. This way she could help people with not only their bodies but also their minds.
After quickly recognising her desire to do more than just work in the mental wellness sector, she pursued her passion and became a life coach. Not stopping here, she also branched out to cognitive behavioral therapy, child psychology and addiction studies. This way she was knowledgeable in various backgrounds and could actually give professional advice.
Ricc Radio had aired a few episodes of the social benefit podcast already and former manager of the radio station, Mick Hanley had invited Helen to take it over and she got to pick the name, ‘Minding Your Own Self’ as it is a term she would normally use for her clients. Helen is now on episode 28 and is thriving in the field. The purpose of the podcast was to inspire listeners to relate to things she and her guests spoke about and take something from it. Whether it be to remind people they are not alone or to give them courage to do things they want to do.
The podcast goes online every two weeks with different guests suited to the topic of mental health. From cardiologists to presenters and producers, Helen’s guests have a wide variety of different backgrounds and always relate to the same topic of mental health and social benefit. The guests share stories of their own personal journeys and how they’ve overcome their struggles. Every podcast is different and has its own personal meaning which viewers can take a lot from.
In the most recent episode of Minding Your Own Self, Helen chatted with Life and Business coach, Mark Fennell. Mark started off as a youth worker but soon realised his passion was with helping people, just like Helen. He learned new challenges himself through the process and discovered not all people come from good backgrounds and need a confidence boost to do what they wish. They chatted about how important mindset is as a life skill and the disconnect between the thought process and people’s actions which can be completely different, e.g. Helen would train people to lose weight and follow through, only for the person to regain what they’d lost because their mindset wasn’t in the right place.
Having a healthy mindset is essential to everyday life and there should never be a time when it is overlooked. Helen is the perfect advocate for this which is why her podcast is so popular. Her guests engage in honest, open conversations, aiming to destigmatise mental health issues, provide hope, and equip listeners with tools for improving their mental well-being.
Also it’s clear that the team behind the show puts in immense effort and delivers high quality content which enhances the listener experience and Adam McNamara who produces each show and is the cornerstone of the podcast’s success. With his expertise and attention to detail, he ensures the final product is polished, professional and a pleasure to listen to.
Minding Your Own Self is a safe space for anyone who wishes to listen on various platforms, including Spotify, Ricc.ie and it’s also linked on both Ringsend & Irishtown Community Centre Facebook and Instagram pages so it is a wonderful podcast to download to get some advice, and continue learning on how to better manage your mental health, build resilience and gain a deeper understanding of yourself and others.
