Welcome to Live A Little, the space for soft conversations with a big soul. Nikki Lilly is exploring the weird in-between of modern life – where you can have a lot going on but still wonder if you’re missing something deeper. This podcast is not about having the answer – it’s about figuring it out.

trigger warning: this episode contains discussions of suicide, grief, trauma, and mental health struggles

on this episode of live a little, we're picking up from last week's episode, as nikki lilly is once again joined by mental health advocate and campaigner ben west.

our conversation starts with ben explaining why his brother, sam, believed that once you got depression, you never don't have depression - a mindset that convinced him he could never get back up. ben and nikki talk about how this is absolutely not the case, and how even with lifelong illnesses like bipolar disorder, people can live very happy, healthy lives.

they discuss the power of hope and why 'reasons to stay' exists - because the only person truly qualified to tell someone it gets better is someone who's been there and made it through.

ben shares one of his favourite letters from reasons to stay, and nikki shares her own journey through PTSD and depression, and how clinical depression creates that tunnel vision where your brain can only remember the bad times.

they explore why we need to practice finding things to live for, the nitty-gritty of emotional vocabulary, how to improve emotional literacy and why there's so much pressure to "fix" someone when really they just need to be heard.

if you've ever felt like things will never get better, or you've struggled to find the right words to help someone... this one's for you.

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