Topics covered : Anxiety, brain fog, flooding, hot flushes, night sweats, weight gain, aches and pains, urinary incontinence, vaginal atrophy, pelvic physio, the impact of stress, sleep.

This episode was recorded over 3.5 years ago but it's still as relevant as ever.

I speak to Menopause coach and author, Catherine O’Keeffe, known online as Wellness Warrior.

When I recorded this conversation, I was 41 and hoping to have another baby. Now, I’m 45 and I'm very fortunate to have 2 young kids but I’m also now in perimenopause and listening to this chat once again, I took so much from it.

So I’ve been experiencing things like changes to my period and brain fog and a number of other typical symptoms for about 6-8 months now and this pod is full of information as Catherine delves into the physical, mental and emotional aspects of perimenopause and it’s a must listen!

Menopause is such a complicated and sensitive topic and the experience of it is so different for every woman.

If you want to reach out to Catherine, you can email her directly on [email protected]

Her book : ‘All You Need to Know About Menopause’ is available on her website Wellness Warrior

And find her on Instagram

Catherine O Keeffe (@wellnesswarrior.ie) • Instagram photos and videos

Mentioned during the conversation: Prof Myra Hunter & CBT Techniques:

02-WHC-FACTSHEET-CBT-WOMEN-FEB-2023-A.pdf

Products :

‘Yes organics’ Natural vaginal moisturiser

‘Olive & Bee’ Natural lubricant

* 24 patch testing is very important before applying any product internally

‘Vagifem’ – prescription only, from your GP

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Topics covered : Purpose, self and collective care, connection, values, non-negotiables, balance, legacy. 

Gerry Hussey otherwise known as 'The Soul Coach' is a performance psychologist who has been working in the fields of health and performance for almost twenty years. I have huge respect for him and am lucky enough to call him a friend.

Gerry and his wife Miriam are the founders of wellness platform ‘Soul Space’ and they are bringing their show ‘Coming Home’ to the National Concert Hall on the 10th of November and I know it will be an incredibly powerful day for all who attend.

In this conversation he invites us to ask ourselves some important questions to help us discover what our values are, he talks about the importance of dropping judgement and he shares practical tips on how to stay regulated during challenging times.   

Questions to ask ourselves :

What am I here to do?

Who am I here to be?

What’s the legacy I am going to dare leave behind?

What is the business I’m in?

What would love do?

Books :

‘The Hero’s Journey’ by Joseph Campbell

Gerry’s books ‘Awaken your power within’ and ‘The Freedom Within’

Coming Home, 10th November, NCH.

SOUL SPACE presents Coming Home with Gerry & Miriam Hussey| NCH | Live Music & Events | National Concert Hall

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Topics covered : Cancer, red flags, coercive control, faith, resilience.

This week I speak to the incredible Nicola Hanney.

Nicola lives in Dublin with her son and she’s been through hell and back. Her book, ‘Stronger -what didn’t kill me, made me’ is out now and in this conversation, we cover elements of her story.

She comes from a large family and works as a hairdresser, and 8 years ago, when she was 36 she was first diagnosed with cancer. She then went on to meet a man called Paul Moody, a former member of An Garda Síochána who terrorised her until he was convicted in 2022.

Over a 14 hour period in July 2018, she received 652 messages from him. That’s one roughly every 90 seconds. The mental, emotional and physical abuse he subjected Nicola to, led him to be one of the first people in Ireland to be convicted of coercive control. 

And she gave up her anonymity to share her harrowing story in the hope of empowering others who find themselves in similar situations, and to highlight the early signs of abuse.

If you have been affected by this episode, please go to Ireland helplines and hotlines (findahelpline.com) for a list of resources that might be beneficial.

Women's Aid - Listening. Believing. Supporting. Empowering. (womensaid.ie)

Home - Men's Aid (mensaid.ie)

‘Taking back control’ documentary available to watch on the RTÉ Player.

Taking Back Control - RTÉ Player (rte.ie)

If you’re a fan of what I do, please follow, rate and review in all the usual places.

Thanks, as always, for your support of Ready to be Real.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Topics covered : Uncovering blind spots, racism, overwhelm, anxiety, panic attacks, burnout, regulation and dysregulation, consumerism, community and collective care, self-care, rupture and repair, glimmers. 

This week I speak to chartered psychologist, Allison Keating and it was wonderful to be in her company.

She is married to Thomas and they have 3 daughters, Alannah is 15, Hayley is 12 and Brooke is 9 and they live in Dublin.

And in this conversation, she talks about anxiety, overwhelm and panic attacks. How important cultivating a sense of community and connection is and how embracing ‘glimmers’ can be hugely beneficial to our lives.

Her new book ‘It’s all too much’ has just launched and it is full of brilliant, practical advice including how to disrupt a panic attack and it’s a gamechanger!

Find Allison on Instagram

Allison Keating | thepractical.psychologist (@thepractical.psychologist) • Instagram photos and videos

Book mentions -

'Man’s search for meaning' by Viktor E. Frankl

'White Women – everything you already know about your own racism and how to do better' by Regina Jackson and Saira Rao. 

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Topics covered : George Floyd, Black Lives Matter movement, trauma, racism, empathy, capitalism, celebrity culture, social media, privilege, colonialism, photography, power of film and music, Palestine, injustice, grief, social justice, community.

My guest this week is photographer, filmmaker, entrepreneur and social activist, the wonderful Misan Harriman.

He is married to Camilla and they have 2 young daughters and they live in Surrey.

He was born in Nigeria and came to England when he was a young boy to attend boarding school and the last few years in particular, have been transformative for him.

On his 40th birthday he picked up a camera and his gift behind the lens has led him to photograph some of the most influential people in the world from Harry and Megan, who are good friends of his; Kate Winslet, Harrison Ford and Angelina Jolie to name but a few.

He is also the chair of cultural hub, the Southbank Centre, and an ambassador for Save The Children and he was the first black man to shoot the cover of British Vogue in its 104 year history.

In this conversation, he talks about George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, celebrity culture, the power of the arts and his love of film and music, his debut short film ‘The After’ which is currently on Netflix, and how children everywhere, must be our priority.

Watch :

The After

Triangle of Sadness

White Nanny Black Child

Listen :

On the nature of daylight by Max Richter

Other podcasts to listen to are...

Farah Nabulsi : Award winning filmmaker

​Sarah Durham Wilson : Rebel with a cause

Róisín El Cherif : Palestinian pride

Caoimhe Butterly : Collective Care

Dr Myriam François : Speaking truth to power

Daniel Maté : Dismantling blindspots

Ruth Smith : Love and Justice

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Topics covered : Confidence, courage, anxiety, affirmations, bullshitting, self-talk.   

In this episode I speak to Professor Ian Robertson about confidence.

Ian is a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist and he is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading researchers in neuropsychology and he’s also the author of several best-selling books, including ‘How Confidence Works’.

In this conversation he tells us what confidence is, what makes someone confident, how we can improve it, the differences between men and women in terms of confidence and why that is; the art of bullshitting and the power of positive self-talk.

If you’re a fan of my pod, please follow, rate and review in all the usual places. And thanks, as always, for your support of Ready to be Real.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Topics covered : Poverty, heroin addiction, neglect, abuse, childhood rape, dysfunction, shame, positive influences, kindness, breaking negative cycles, therapy,  recovery, attachment, opportunities, motherhood, education, academia, love, compassion, forgiveness, healing.   

Please read the full list of topics covered before you listen.

I speak to the phenomenal Dr. Katriona O’Sullivan and it's an eye opening and challenging conversation at times but I highly recommend you stay with it until the end.

Katriona lives in Blanchardstown in Dublin and is married to Dave and she has 3 boys, John who’s 30, Seán who’s 18, and Tadhg who’s 15 and she’s also a proud grandmother.

She is a senior lecturer in Maynooth University in the department of Psychology and is the author of bestselling memoir ‘Poor’.

Katriona’s childhood growing up in Coventry was often chaotic; as one of 5 kids to Irish parents living in a home shaped by heroin addiction, she experienced extreme trauma from an early age, which included being raped as a 7 year old and being pregnant and homeless, as a teenager.

In this conversation she speaks about the extreme neglect she experienced in childhood, the people who were a positive force in her life, the importance of opportunities and education, and the power of healing.

Book – ‘Poor’ is available in all good bookshops and online and is also available as an audio book.

If you’re a fan of my pod, please follow, rate and review in all the usual places. And thanks, as always, for your support of Ready to be Real.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Topics covered : Childhood cancer, grief, perspective, gratitude. 

In this episode I speak to Roseanna Ruane about her wonderful daughter Saoírse who sadly passed away in March this year.

We spoke a few weeks ago and in this heart-breaking conversation she talks about Saoirse, the kind and wise girl that she was, from her first cancer diagnosis when she was only 7 years old and how devastating life has been since she passed away.

She talks about how much she believes in being grateful for what we have in life, and the importance in making memories.

Saoirse was only 12 years old when she left this world but she left her mark in the most beautiful way.

Roseanna lives in Galway with her husband Ollie, their daughter Farrah Rose and their much loved dog Willow.

If you have been affected by this episode, please go to Grief & loss helplines in Ireland (findahelpline.com) for a list of resources that might be beneficial.

And if you want to contact Roseanna, you can find her on Instagram (@saoirseandmamma) or if you want her to speak at an event, you can email her [email protected]

Roseanna uses their page to spread awareness about childhood cancer, limb loss, fertility and grief and her wish is to continue to speak about their experience in the hope that it might give people perspective on what's important in life.

I’ll be taking a quick break from the pod but I'll be back again with more conversations in September. In the meantime, you can dive back into over 180 episodes and if you’re a fan of what I do, please follow, rate and review in all the usual places, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks, as always, for your support of Ready to be Real.

Enjoy the rest of the summer agus tabhair aire.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Topics covered : Resistance, solidarity, grief, finding purpose, empathy and selective empathy, creativity, racism, colonisation, injustice, double standards, hypocrisy, soft power.   

This week I speak to Oscar nominated and BAFTA Award winning Palestinian British filmmaker and human rights advocate, Farah Nabulsi.

She lives in London with her husband and their 3 children and we spoke when she was recently in Galway for the Film Fleadh.

Farah's work includes 'Today They Took My Son', endorsed by British Director Ken Loach and screened at the United Nations. 'The Present', her directorial debut, which she also co-wrote and produced, went on to win over 50 International Film Festival Jury and Audience Awards, a BAFTA® award, and it scored an Oscar® nomination.

Her feature length film ‘The Teacher’ (which is outstanding by the way) won Best International Film at the Galway Film Fleadh and it will be released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland from the 27th of September.

We sat down to speak about shooting it exclusively in the West Bank, she also talks about how her life changed after a trip to Palestine as an adult, finding purpose in life, double standards, her Palestinian parents and so much more.

For more information about this powerful film and cinema locations, go to...

Home - The Teacher

​And if you like this conversation, other episodes to listen to are...

Ruth Smith : Love and Justice

Daniel Mate : Dismantling blindspots

Dr Myriam François : Speaking truth to power

Caoimhe Butterly : Collective Care

Róisín El Cherif : Palestinian pride

​Sarah Durham Wilson : Rebel with a cause

Galway Film Fleadh

36th Galway Film Fleadh | 9 - 14 July 2024

If you’re a fan of what I do, please follow, rate and review in all the usual places.

And thanks, as always, for your support of Ready to be Real.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Topics covered : Interior design, discovering your own style, trends.

In this bite-sized episode I chat to interior designer Tiffany Jones of Beach House Interiors.

Tiffany lives in Clare with her husband Wayne and their 3.5 year old son Guy.

If you’re following me on Instagram you might be aware that we recently moved into our forever home by the sea and Tiffany was, and still is, our interior designer and now friend.

In this conversation she talks about the role of an interior designer, how to figure out your personal style, the importance of budgeting and her expert opinion on trends!

To contact Tiffany...

Interior Designer | Beach House Interior Design | Ireland (beach-house.ie)

Beach House Interiors (@beachhouse.interiors) • Instagram photos and videos

If you’re a fan of what I do, please follow, rate and review in all the usual places.

And thanks, as always, for your support of Ready to be Real.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Topics covered : Women’s health – sex, miscarriage, perimenopause, incontinence, shedding shame; motherhood and Mum guilt, Gaza and social media censorship. 

This week I speak to business owner, podcaster and personality, Laura Dowling, known online as the Fabulous Pharmacist.

Laura lives in Dublin, with her husband Frank, their 3 boys who are 16, 13 and 11 and their dog Carlo.

She worked as a pharmacist for over 20 years and is the founder & CEO of fabÜ nutritional supplements.

In this conversation she talks about women’s health and the importance of shedding shame when it comes to our bodies, motherhood, the ongoing genocide in Gaza and social media censorship.

fabÜ nutritional supplements – fabuwellness

If you liked this episode, others to check out are...

Alana Kirk : Midlife coach

Jenny Keane : Sex Education

Dr. Hazel Wallace : The Food Medic

Deirdre O'Kane : It only gets better

Sexologist Emily Power Smith : Sex Part 1 & 2

Menopause Part 1 & 2

Helena Tubridy :All things Fertility

If you’re a fan of what I do, please follow, rate and review in all the usual places.

And thanks, as always, for your support of Ready to be Real.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.