What life habits keep our brain healthy? How does our mind respond to trauma? And why does the way we talk about suicide and mental health make such a difference to those who are struggling? We discuss all these topics with neuroscience researcher Dr Daniel Almeida.
World Mental Health Day has recently shed a spotlight on our psychological wellbeing. So we decided to republish the sound mental health advice we learnt from our guest Dr Daniel Almeida from episode 255 in October 2021.
Daniel has been named one of Forbes 30 under 30 in science. His incredible work as a neuroscience researcher in the Douglas Research Centre at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, involves psychological autopsies to understand the molecular impacts of severe childhood abuse on the brains of individuals who died by suicide.
As you can imagine, this episode is full of difficult yet important topics. But what struck us most about Daniel was how upbeat and positive he is about his work and the difference it’s making to people’s lives. Daniel kindly shares his top 5 healthy brain habits that we can all adopt to improve our mental wellbeing.
If you, or someone you know needs help with their mental health, please use one of the resources in the links below.
Mental Health SupportSuicide Prevention Lifeline (US):https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: https://afsp.org/suicide-prevention-resources
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: National Helpline (US): 1-800-662-HELP (4357). SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders. https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline
The Canada Suicide Prevention Service: https://www.crisisservicescanada.ca/en/
Samaritans (UK): https://www.samaritans.org/
United for Global Mental Health (List of support networks around the world): https://unitedgmh.org/mental-health-support
For those looking for information on how to support others:
National Institute of Mental Health: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention
For the general public looking to be trained in mental health first aid and/or suicide prevention:
Living Works (US): https://bit.ly/3oKgsaS
Mental Health First Aid Canada: https://mhfa.ca/
Topics
(6:29) Speed round.
(10:14) Does talking about suicide help?
(14:15) Why it’s very important to talk about “dying by suicide” instead of “committing suicide”.
(16:17) About Daniel’s work as a neuroscientist.
(17:47) What are the links between childhood trauma and suicide?
(25:16) What age are children most sensitive to the effects of trauma?
(31:19) How the type of trauma experienced by a child matters.
(33:36) How resilience is more like a sword than a shield.
(35:29) What are the 5 best brain health habits?
(41:57) What is a brain bank and how are psychological autopsies used?
(44:30) What music isn’t noise pollution for Daniel?
(46:24) Music and the brain.
(48:13) Grooving Session with Kurt and Tim; how to apply Daniel’s work to your life.
© 2023 Behavioral Grooves
Links
World Mental Health Day: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-mental-health-day
Leading Human™ Workbook and Playbook: https://www.behavioralgrooves-store.com/products/copy-of-the-leading-human-playbook-workbook-package
Leading Human™, Free Whitepaper Download: https://www.behavioralgrooves-store.com/collections/leading-human/products/human-centered-workplace-checklist
Episode 220: How Do You Become Influential? Jon Levy Reveals His Surprising Secrets: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/how-to-be-influential-jon-levy/
Dr Brenda Mildner – Mother of Psychological worked on bilateral hypocantim removal: https://www.mcgill.ca/neuro/about/brenda-milner
Donald Hebb: https://can-acn.org/donald-olding-hebb/#:~:text=Donald%20Hebb%20(1904%2D1985),which%20was%20published%20in%201949.
“Molecular impacts of childhood abuse on the human brain” Ibrahim, P.; Almeida, D.; Nagy, C.; Turecki, G. (2021): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289521000515?via%3Dihub
“A Slice of the Suicidal Brain: What Have Postmortem Molecular Studies Taught Us?” Almeida, D. and Turecki, G. (2016): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27671915/
“What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing”, by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Perry: https://amzn.to/3lF7EQ7
Brain structure of dancers and musicians https://www.falishakarpati.com/bio
Support Behavioral Grooves by donating on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves
Musical Links
Gladys Knight & The Pips “Midnight Train to Georgia”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0F9lh8TiSM&ab_channel=GladysKnightTPVEVO
Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWTaaS7LdU
The Supremes “Where Did Our Love Go”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTBmgAOO0Nw
Stevie Wonder “As”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYQfWJNWe3I
Marconi Union - Weightless Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYnA9wWFHLI&t=6831s
Trailer: They Thought We Were Ridiculous
Unlocking Intimacy: The Power of Questions | Topaz Adizes
The Key to Boosting Retirement Savings | John Beshears
Decoding Behavior Change | Bri Williams [Republish]
Mapping Out Our Minds | Linnea Gandhi
Adapt, Recover, Grow: Mastering Resilience | Dr. Jonathan DePierro
Cracking the Communication Code | Ben Guttmann
Groove Through 2023: A Year in Review with Kurt and Tim
Grooving with Knowledge: Kurt and Tim’s Best Behavioral Science Books of 2023
Balancing Work Friction and Fatigue | Huggy Rao
The Eight Superpowers of Confidence | Lisa Sun
Rethinking Behavioral Science | Adam Mastroianni
Navigating Societal Rifts | Michèle Lamont
Evolving Minds: A Conversation on Attention Spans | Gloria Mark PhD
The Power of Brevity | Todd Rogers
Unlocking the Power of Effective Communication | Matt Abrahams
Why Sleep Is Vital for Academic Success | David Creswell PhD
Bridging Behavioral Science Concepts and Applications | Connor Joyce
Reading the Air: Using Self-Awareness to Make the Workplace Work for You | Michelle King
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Poetry of Science
Hidden Brain
Choiceology with Katy Milkman
The Psychology Podcast
The Science of Happiness