77 | Talking about mental health in midlife with Genevieve Hawkins, Author, Conversationalist, & Conflict Coach

We know our mental health is important, but we don’t necessarily know how to talk about it. Or what to say and share with those in our lives. We don’t have a simple and easy to understand language to communicate how we’re feeling and what we need.  In this episode, my guest, Genevieve Hawkins, an author, conversationalist, and conflict coach shares two simple analogies we can use to understand and explain mental health, and why we need to focus on it in our midlife. Genevieve shares practical tips, helpful takeaways, and highlights the importance of pleasure, play, and passion in maintaining our mental and physical health.  Tune in to learn how to balance chemicals in your brain, find your community, and live a more vibrant life. Our conversation covers: How we didn’t have a language or understanding of mental health challenges in our youth How the term mental health is being misused and misunderstood Understanding the continuum of health, and how it can help us to talk about mental health The traffic light analogy that can help us to understand our physical and mental health. What Green, yellow, orange and red represents on our physical health continuum What Green, yellow, orange and red represents on our mental health continuum How menopause can impact your mental health How we can support our mental health in our midlife The four key ingredients we need for our mental health - to bake a tasty mental health pie Four ‘chemicals’ that our brain and body produces that impact our mental health How our animal and thinking brain impact us The best anti-depressant in the world (and it’s free!) How pleasure, play and passion are important ingredients in your pie The questions you can ask yourself to check in and ensure you’ve got the right ingredients for your mental health pie Connect with Genevieve via Website: https://www.genevievehawkins.com.au•  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevievehawkins/ Get her book, Mentally at Work here via Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/Mentally-at-Work-Genevieve-Hawkins-ebook/dp/B08D56C4SZ