My interview with BBC Radio Sheffield

For all who missed it, I was on the local BBC radio afternoon show with Rony Robinson last week. I was certainly nervous but I feel like I gave my truth and I hope you enjoy it.

The BBC have informed me the interview will be available for free listening for 30 days. After which, it will disappear into the archives. So please have a listen if you want to hear me talk about my life, how I discovered herbal medicine and how it helped my mental health problems better than anything before.

Skip to 1 hour 35. I am on for about 20 minutes (with a Pink Floyd track in the middle). Please share the link with anyone you know who is suffering with mental health issues and see if this can bring them some hope or clarity that there is another potential way to solve the crisis of serious mental disorders.

The link is available here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/

If you have any questions about the interview, in regards to any topics or information we spoke of then feel free to contact me via the email listed below. I have numerous patients with mental health problems that see me for help using herbal medicine and nutritional support.

Jonny Woodall
Medical Herbalist and Flower Essence Therapist
BSc (Hons) Herbal Medicine
National Institute of Medical Herbalists

Contact me for help with your health problems and illness

PHONE: +44(0) 7525827558

EMAIL: jonnyapothecary@gmail.com

SKYPE: jonnysapothecary

Men's work - My journey so far

I started engaging with men’s self development approximately 2 years ago. My first steps were with a non-affiliated organisation in Manchester that would meet monthly for food, a talking circle and some sort of workshop led by a member of the group. Many workshops ended up being incredibly rewarding as we shared meditations, lectures and interactive body movement sessions that involved us stepping out of the ‘mould’ and challenging ourselves a little bit. I even led a workshop on herbal medicine.

I started to really look forward to these meetings as I realised how rewarding it felt to be heard by other men when I shared what was happening in my life. I also became aware of how important it was for me to spend time with older men who had gone through challenging life experiences who I could ask to help me with feedback on situations that were current for me.

Overall I was happy with my first steps into men’s work but the truth was I yearned for more. Within the group I noticed men who had become drawn to an organisation called the ManKind Project (MKP). This involved men traveling to a centre to go through an initiation that meant they could then access their local MKP group that meets weekly or every other week. I was quite fascinated by the sound of the initiation even though those who do it swear not to talk about the intricacies of the weekend with others. Fortunately I was lucky enough to see men from the non-affiliated group go to complete their initiation and return. It was upon witnessing their return that my desire for deeper men’s work really began to burn.

I instantly noticed a difference in the men who were involved with MKP or who had returned from their initiation. Their demeanour, language, communication and presence was infatuating. They clearly looked and felt different to me. It wasn’t too long after sharing space with these new MKP men that I knew I had to take that journey into the mystery myself. I could feel the fire burning within and I couldn’t rest until those deeper steps were taken.

Fast forward to June this year and I finally made my trip to Droghada, Ireland to attend my initiation with MKP. Before traveling I had stuffed my mind with some classic men’s development books. The most helpful being ‘King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the archetypes of the mature masculine’ by Gillette and Moore. This book really laid down the foundation of how men’s work with MKP really takes hold. The theory is that men have 4 innate archetypes that have perpetuated history, art, culture, media and psychology since men were men. Within each man the archetypes take shape in certain ways that can be immature or mature with a shadow element attached to each one. If men do not develop their souls then each archetype can be an immature manifestation with darker shadow aspects that will exhibit themselves in negative behaviour patterns. This theory was part of the psychologist Carl Jung’s work on male psychology. This book lays them out in a clear and concise pattern for men to understand the foundation of men’s work. I experienced a lot of identification with descriptions of each archetype and how I felt each one within me was more mature or immature than the others.

With a basic understanding of the archetypes I attended my initiation and have never looked back. The initiation is centred around the warrior archetype and gives all men who complete it the same foundation or footing with which to engage in MKP circles or trainings. I have since attended numerous local MKP weekly meetings and further training with the organisation.

My personal growth has been quite unbelievable to behold. Working on darker elements of my psychology that hold me back or sabotage myself and others around me. I feel that MKP and the archetypes have given me a map or compass with which to become aware of how my mind can be a source of power but also a source of darkness. This is becoming a powerful project where I have already seen an incredible amount of growth in just 6 months. I feel like my confidence has improved, my relationships with friends and family, I feel like I am more honest and also more on time to events or meetings. I have even noticed that my food intolerances have improved. Coffee is now something that really elevates me and doesn’t make me anxious and even gluten is now something I eat at the dinner table. I believe all of these reflect a more balanced, integrated and developed growth within me to become the man of integrity I have now seen in older men who are part of MKP.

My clinical work has also improved as i begin to notice the archetypes at play in my male patients. This has been crucial to helping me understand more about addiction, self-harm, mental health problems and male psychology.

Overall this path of men’s work has become something far greater than I could have imagined when I first took those steps 2 years ago. I have my brothers by my side and the bond I feel with these men grows deeper with every week. Men’s work is here to stay and will only grow as men discover that the way to change the world and yourself is to fully empower and integrate your psyche, your emotions and your vision for a better life and world.

More information about MKP UK and Ireland can be found at: https://mankindprojectuki.org

Jonny Woodall
Medical Herbalist and Flower Essence Therapist
BSc (Hons) Herbal Medicine
National Institute of Medical Herbalists

Contact me for help with your health problems and illness

PHONE: +44(0) 7525827558

EMAIL: jonnyapothecary@gmail.com

SKYPE: jonnysapothecary

Film Review: Storyville - The Work: Four days to redemption

Every now and then a documentary or film comes along that touches a wound within yourself. Months can roll by watching monotonous movies that often make you feel they have taken something from you rather than given you something in return. At the weekend this documentary was recommended to me and it didn't disappoint. 

Four days to redemption shows the process of an American charity that takes men into prisons where they offer male convicts the opportunity to undergo a transformational four days of therapy focused on sharing circles, family constellation work, meditation, breathwork and trauma release. 

The men who are taken into the prisons from the outside are curious about who they are as men, feeling drawn to the process as a way of answering a call within themselves. 

What I witnessed was raw male wounds being opened bit by bit as I witnessed man after man break down into their hurt child and reveal truths about themselves that otherwise would be hidden by layers of violence, aggression and prowess at not revealing their vulnerabilities. So many of the convicts relive traumatic childhoods where they were beaten, assaulted, neglected and abandoned.

So many of these men have wounds so deep, so locked away, hidden from their consciousness and scarred by life that they have developed ways of surviving and living that have ended with them being locked up. They are repeating the same patterns of abuse and behavioural mindsets they learned as children. 

For the first time many of these men have a space to really be vulnerable and let out the pain of their traumatic experiences. We see some of the most violent men in America at a maximum security prison began to let out that pain among other men who facilitate a space where they can be heard, accepted and healed. 

As a regular committed participant of male sharing circles this documentary triggered my male wounds deeply as I couldn't help but connect with one of the participants. With my own healing journey into the masculine unfolding before me this documentary touched me emotionally.

The film finishes with a paragraph stating that every convict who has taken part in this therapy and gone on to be released has so far not re-offended. For those who don't know, most convicts will be locked up again after being released, constantly staying in a cycle of crime, poverty, addiction. 

This is a must watch for any man wanting to see how therapy can access his inner wounds when done in a space of experienced men who are there to facilitate healing and change. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09c1rch/storyville-the-work-four-days-to-redemption

Jonny Woodall
Medical Herbalist and Flower Essence Therapist
Bsc (Hons) Herbal Medicine
National Institute of Medical Herbalists

Contact me for help with your health problems and illness

PHONE: +44(0) 7525827558

EMAIL: jonnyapothecary@gmail.com

SKYPE: jonnysapothecary

Finding Purpose as a Man

The leading cause of death to a man my age is suicide. To take one's life is often met with confusing feelings by those who are close and witness this. Anger, sadness, frustration, despair and numbness are words often used to describe such events. 

Why is this happening? What is going wrong with men? how can we live in one of the richest countries of the world yet live knowing the biggest risk to a man's life - my life, is death due to actions by my own personal choice. 

Whilst it is impossible and naive to give an ultimate explanation to this it is easy to see how poor diet, high stress, one's class and social standing have a part to play. But how many times do you hear about purpose? What is your purpose? What is a man's purpose? 

Were we made to live a life of service to others in a never-ending rollercoaster of subservience and consumerism? To work yourself to death for a chief executive who will never know or even care about your name? To spend all your money on pointless goods? Or maybe it's to fuel money into the biggest distraction of a man's power - the belief his local football team actually represent him and his worth?

The defining factor in all of this is purpose. When a man has purpose with unbounding intent his life brings forth the attraction of knowledge, power and insight. For a man to let go of commonly held social beliefs of what modern society tells us a man should be searching for and replace that with the challenge of finding inner truths and a purpose on earth then meaning and hope can flourish. 

With purpose we breed passion, a passion to live one's life with something inherently beautiful. To access inner gifts and find out who you are and why you are really a part of this web of existence. 

When a man truly discovers something more to the story that was imposed on him by others then begins the journey out of darkness and into the light. 

Herbal medicine has been an integral part of my life's purpose. To save knowledge, to have meaning and to use my gifts for others. My true purpose propelled me into a path of strength, to discover my inner man that was longing to break through the damaged boy.

Indeed it is now a large part of my work with most of my male clients. Therapy can often provide that helping hand and facilitation needed for men to step into their power and discover a new path. 

Jonny Woodall
Medical Herbalist and Flower Essence Therapist
Bsc (Hons) Herbal Medicine
National Institute of Medical Herbalists

Contact me for help with your health problems and illness

PHONE: +44(0) 7525827558

EMAIL: jonnyapothecary@gmail.com

SKYPE: jonnysapothecary