Discover your divine purpose, heal your soul and awaken to your highest calling.
Join Zachary Phillips on a journey towards living a more examined life with talks delving into the nature of reality, the search for meaning and the pursuit of happiness.
The page listens. It doesn’t judge. It can be discarded.
Alongside meditation, exercise and self-care, writing therapy is a central part of my mental health management.
In this episode I break down my process, and teach you how to do it yourself.
Changing medications has highlighted the potential (& extreme) range of my moods. Over the course of a day I went from depressed to hyper-sexual.
In this episode I discuss my challenges with emotional variability as well as the ways I am managing my medication.
The life we have now is distinctly different than the one we were promised.
Job security and income levels are down the drain, education leaves us crippled by debts, people are rioting and the planet is warming. Our leaders seem incompetent and corrupt.
And our lower backs hurt.
Navigating trauma isn’t easy. Not for the person suffering, nor for the people around them.
When triggered, I am faced with an overwhelming gush of emotionality. I feel afraid. I feel like I am reliving the past trauma. This can cause me to act in a way that seems selfish - I will lash out, require comfort or alone time. I can seem angry and ungrateful - Despite this, I need the support of those close to me.
Open and honest communication is key.
In this episode, I read and dissect my poem 'I Over Thought It & Hurt My Own Feelings,’ and discuss how you can help someone who has been triggered.
As a response to trauma, we may dissociate.
This is a defence mechanism, one that keeps us safe from the terrors of the moment. It blocks us off from reality and keeps us safe.
Unfortunately, this process can run rampant, triggering itself in times of safety and peace, leaving us confused and unable to understand what is happening or explain it to ourselves or others.
In this episode I read and dissect my poem ‘How Do I Explain This Feeling’.
Read MoreProtesters are on the streets and people are rioting. Police are out in force.
Clearly something needs to change, but will it? Will the passion, anger and outrage over George Floyd's death result in real world change? Or will it die out, only to be reignited following another similar tragedy?
In this episode I explore the causes and results of racism, and dissect the impact of the medias twisting of the narrative to pander to their viewers bias.
I discuss if it is even possible for a ‘privileged’ person to truly empathise and understand systemic racism, and suggest that the changes that are needed may realistically take a long time to be implemented.
When you get triggered it can feel like the world is ending, like all your past trauma is happening simultaneously.
In this episode I discuss how it feels for me, as well as what I do about it in the moment and over the long term.
Read MoreWhen I drop my morning routine, my day typically falls to pieces.
I need to start the day with meditation and exercise before I start my work.
This is true for the creative days as well. Routine gives me a secure place to create from.
Read MoreEmotions colour the perceptions of both the giver and the receiver. Potentially resulting in misalignment of support.
Do you want/need emotional validation, practical support or actionable advice?
In this episode, I discuss the importance of detachment and honest communication on all sides.
Read MoreThe symptoms of depression, anxiety and other mental afflictions can at times have physiological causes.
In this episode I discuss the importance of conducting a ‘status check’ of your physical body, doing self care and of making a crisis plan before you need it!
Working out how you work is vital. There are many different approaches to performance, but what works best for you?
In this episode I breakdown the optimal circumstances for my own artistic performance, as well as how I came to know it, and then give you the tools to do the same.
Read MoreLucid dreaming involves becoming aware that you are dreaming and then taking control of the dream.
I use it as a form of wish fulfilment, exploration and inner therapy.
In this episode I discuss how to get and stay lucid and dive deep on why you should give it a try.
The only way to truly heal is to embrace your past. To acknowledge it, work through it, and accept to it. Ignoring it won’t help, and hoping it will go away is just wishful thinking.
This is a hard process, and one that must be repeated often. But the result are worth it.
In this episode I share how writing therapy has helped me to relieve some of the inner pressure. I cover some of the problems and pitfalls of using writing therapy to address trauma. I also share two pieces of writing therapy, the poem ‘Flash Back’, as well as a short essay ‘What is a dream?’.
Read MoreWe are a product of our environment. Our values, beliefs and societal norms are just a construct of the time and place we are born.
Historical events cause societal shifts. War, revolution, natural disasters and disease change the people experiencing them. When those people reintegrate with society, the entire society is transformed.
We are in the middle of an unprecedented global event. In this episode of The Reality Check Podcast, I discuss how our shared experience may transform the foundations of global society.
Read MoreClutter is depressing and anxiety inducing.
Unfortunately anxiety and depression often leads to disorganisation and indecision, which causes the accumulation of more clutter.
This is cyclic.
In this episode I discuss the connection between mental health and our environments, as well as ways that we can take positive action in the face of mental illness and mess.
There is a certain romanticism to revolution: overthrowing tyranny, destruction of the systems of corruption, bringing fairness and equality to the oppressed masses.
Unfortunately the reality is violent, chaotic and unpredictable; often with completely undesirable outcomes for most people involved in the revolt.
I am concerned for society. There is so much hate and distrust, perpetuated by communications technology that punishes nuance and rewards soundbites and appeals to emotion.
In this episode I discuss this issue, and what we can to combat it.
Read MoreLooking at Coronavirus through the lens of collective trauma will help us to manage the crisis - both internally and communally.
We are all going through something new, unique and scary. We don’t have complete information, and we are seeing people lose their freedoms, livelihoods and lives.
This is traumatic, and is causing us to act and respond in a compromised way.
In this episode I discuss the importance of mentally re-framing as a way to maintain our mental states and relationships.
Read MorePeople will profit from Covid-19. They will use this situation to their advantage. This is what people have always done.
It doesn’t mean they created the virus, and it doesn’t mean there is a conspiracy. All it means is that people are opportunistic.
Governments included. We will see an expansion of powers, and thus a contraction of freedoms.
In this episode I deconstruct the conspiracy theories and discuss the personal impact of our governments response to the crisis.
Read MoreThere is a lag between taking action to improve yourself (diet, exercise, meditation etc) and noticing the results of those actions.
Keep this in mind whenever you start a new positive habit. If you know that it will take a while to see any benefits. then you will persevere with it long enough to actually see those results.
For me, sticking to a morning ritual is key, both for my mental health, but also for my productivity. In this episode I break down my morning, I talk about why I use a routine, as well as how you can implement one in your life.
My mornings in a nutshell:
- Wake at 6am
- Green tea with jasmine
- Meditate (40 mins)
- Black coffee
- Russian language lesson #1 (3 mins)
- Exercise (45 mins)
- Russian language lesson #2 (3 mins)
- Prioritise my day (3 mins)
- Respond to social (5 mins)
- Post on social (5 mins)
- Cold shower
Click to listen to this episode!
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