Josh Connolly had a chaotic childhood. By the time he hit his twenties, he was contemplating suicide. Now, he is one of the country’s most influential voices on mental health, using his own experiences to help others. I chatted with him about why men struggle to share emotions, growing up around alcohol and how he wants to de-stigmatise conversations about suicide.

For more on Josh’s work, click here

Elliot Sweeney has been a psychiatric nurse for over two decades. Now he has written a book about his experiences: ‘We Don't Use Words Like Crazy - A Life On The Frontline Of Mental Health.’ His moving, and often funny, memoir pulls back the curtain on what the job’s really like, showing why we need more compassion for people who are struggling and the professionals who try to help them every day.

To donate to my fundraiser for CALM’s Stay Tuned Campaign, please click this link.

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50 in the UK. Sparing a few quid for CALM helps them fund their essential service to help bring that rate down.

Ziyad Marar draws on psychology, philosophy, literature and even the films of Quentin Tarantino to demonstrate the strange business of noticing things. His new book (Noticing - How We Attend To the World And Each Other) contends that our enjoyment of life is shaped by what we choose to notice in the world around us.

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Please donate here to my fundraiser for CALM. CALM is an outspoken, innovative suicide prevention charity offering life-saving services and smashing the stigma around mental health. With STAY Tuned 2025, I’m using my podcasts to raise money for CALM. Together we can help people end their misery, not their lives. If you can, sling a few quid their way. Cheers.

The Reset is back after a hiatus! Thank you for your patience; it’s been a busy year.

Throughout September, I will be backing the Stay Tuned 2025 campaign by the brilliant mental health charity, CALM.

Stay Tuned is all about raising awareness about mental health and raising money to pay for CALM’s life-saving support services.

You can donate to my fundraiser page here. Every penny counts (but for anyone who can spare a larger amount, there are some special incentives and rewards on offer).

To help me kick off the campaign, I am joined on this week’s pod by Callum Goodall from CALM. He told me more about the amazing work they are doing to save lives - and shared his own moving experience of coping with a suicide attempt in his family.

There will be more episodes coming throughout the month, so stay in touch.

The Reset meets Betamax Baylon in a podcast crossover we call The Trudge Report.

Once or twice a year, my cousin Bruce and I head off to the country for the weekend for a long walk and a long chat. Because nature and talking to a mate are good for your mind and your soul.

This time, we visited Camber Sands in East Sussex and walked to the charming town of Rye. Along the way, we met a rude cyclist, a lovely cyclist, some beautiful lambs and a Morris dancer.

As usual, we talked a whole lot of bollocks, ate curry and watched some films in a caravan.

I hope you enjoy listening to our adventures. And I encourage you to head out into the countryside for a walk and a chat whenever you get the chance. It does your mood the world of good.

PS - I have now released the previous episodes of The Trudge Report from behind the paywall, should you like to go back and listen to our past adventures

Episode 1

Episode 2

Hi gang. My new book ‘Stop Shitting Yourself - 15 Life Lessons That Might Help You Calm The F**k Down’ is out today.

I want to say thanks to you all for subscribing to this newsletter. It effectively gave birth to the book - without you lot showing an interest, I wouldn’t have been able to make this happen.

So cheers. Now go and buy a copy! You can get it as an audiobook (read by me) or Kindle version here.

If you want a signed copy of the hardback with a personal message from me, drop Barnes Bookshop a line and quote the code Delaney 25 for a 10% discount. We will have it out to you straight away - I’ll nip round the shop to sign it later today.

BTW, here are some articles I’ve written in the papers recently to promote the book…

“I was Working Too Hard And Having Seizures” - The Mirror

“5 Quick Stress Busting Techniques That Brought Me Back After Being Cancelled” The Telegraph

“At 49 my male mates put me down” - The i Paper

My new book is out on Thursday. I’m very excited. It’s called ‘Stop Shitting Yourself - 15 Life Lessons That Might Help You Calm The F**k Down.’ It’s about a lifetime of worry and stress, where it came from and how I eventually learned to conquer it. Although ‘conquered’ is a bit of a stretch. It’s fairer to say that I taught myself to manage the ups and downs of daily life better as I got older. If you’re stressed or anxious, it might help you. Even if you’re not, you might find it funny/entertaining.

The seeds of the book were planted right here on The Reset. By subscribing to this newsletter, you encouraged me to explore the ideas, get them down on the page and turn them into something I’m very proud of.

As a small thank you, I can offer a 10% discount to all Reset subscribers when they buy a hardback copy from my favourite store, Barnes Bookshop.

Just call or email them with the code ‘Delaney25’ and they will reduce the price and send you a copy in a nicely packaged parcel.

If you’d like me to sign it and write a personalised message inside, just let them know, and we will arrange it.

If you’d prefer to buy it as an audiobook, you can do so here. I read the audio version. WARNING: I do some funny voices and potentially ‘problematic’ foreign accents at points in this version.

You can also get the Kindle version here.

I have posted a bit of a Jackanory at the top of this message, giving you a taste of the first pages. If you’re interested, here’s more about the origin story of my war with pharmacists.

Cheers lads,

Sam x

Dee C. Lee is a soul singer, pop icon, and trailblazer. In the 1980s, she first found fame as part of Wham! Then, she jumped ship to take a starring role in The Style Council before scoring her own solo hits. In this honest and frank chat, she talks about her incredible career, the emotional toll of fame, and music's role in her mental health.