Tom Pauc opens up about his experiences dealing with Batophobia - a fear of tall objects, or of tall objects falling down - and the influence this has on his everyday life.
He also discusses dealing with low mood and depression and talks about some of things he's realised help him have the best chance of maintaining good mental health - with a big emphasis on sleep.
I'd never heard of batophobia before we recorded this, and that's despite knowing Tom for nearly 10 years. Tom's a podcast host these days, and it shows in the way he calmly and clearly communicates what batophobia is and how it affects him, almost 12 years after it suddenly manifested itself while he was in Barcelona.
Here are the timestamps for when each of our core questions is discussed, so you can fast-track to Tom's answers:
0:00 Introduction to GoodEnoughChats and Tom
3:44 Why are you sharing your mental health experiences with us today?
4:54 How has your last week been?
9:10 How has your relationship with your mental health evolved?
25:25 Have there been any lightbulb moments along the way?
36:44 If someone facing a similar problem came to you today, what's the most important thing they can do?
If you'd like to chat with Tom about his experiences, reach out to him via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-pauc-90946076/
If you're interested in sharing your mental health story to help others who might be going through something similar, you can connect with Dan on LinkedIn too: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danbowsher/
Find the show on your favourite podcast platform and follow us on all our socials via this link: https://linktr.ee/goodenoughchats
Why is GoodEnoughChats a thing?
There is a mental health crisis for men aged between their mid-thirties and early fifties, and one of the things we know can make a positive difference is encouraging men to open up about what's on their minds. Each episode of GoodEnoughChats features a new guest who has volunteered to share their experiences to help destigmatise mental health amongst men.
The discussions are all centred on the same five questions, but each one tells a unique story that might be useful for someone else to hear. We want to build a bank of these chats so they are there for people when they need them.
If you have been affected by some of the issues addressed in this conversation, please know that you are not alone and there are some fantastic places you can turn to for help, including (but by no means limited to):
NHS, https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/
The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), https://www.thecalmzone.net/
Samaritans, https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
