The Just Checking In Podcast

JCIP #349 - Jessica Nguyen

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In episode 349 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jessica Nguyen. 

Jess is an entrepreneur and the Founder of Oh Tuesdays! Microbakery. 

Based in Bristol, Oh Tuesdays was launched in August 2025 after Jess sat in a café on her way home from work and had a very expensive cookie and thought she could create one just as delicious but at a much more competitive cost! 

We came across Jess through her interview with friend of the pod JD on his platform ‘What’s On Your Mind?’, where she spoke about her journey in creating the business and giving up a corporate job which wasn’t giving her fulfilment.

In this episode we discuss her professional journey and how she created the idea of the bakery, balancing growing the business alongside a second job as a barista, social class and the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

We discuss what she's learned along the way, the importance of taking yourself out your comfort zone and following your dreams, wherever it may lead. 

For Jess’s mental health journey, we discuss a breakdown she had in 2021, her experience of depression and being prescribed anti-depressants, specifically Sertraline, an SSRI, which she was on for a year and came off it two years ago at time of recording.

We finish by discussing the importance of her friends in believing in her and the business, supporting it and giving her the belief that she can make it a success.

As always, #itsokaytovent

You can find out more about Oh Tuesdays! here: https://ohtuesdays.sumupstore.com/.

You can follow Oh Tuesdays on social media below: 

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SPEAKER_02

Hi Venters, welcome back to another episode of the Just Checking In Podcast. I'm your host, Freddie Cocker, and this podcast is brought to you by Vent, a place where everyone, but especially men and boys, can open up about their mental health issues, break down stigmas, and start conversations. In each episode, I check in with a special guest. We have an atta and a chat about all things mental health, as well as anything and everything else they are passionate about. If it helps that person with their mental health, we discuss it. My special guest for this episode is Jessica Newin. Jessica currently works as a barista and is also the founder of O Tuesdays Micro Bakery. Based in Bristol, O Tuesdays was launched in August 2025 after Jess sat in a cafe on her way home from work and had a very expensive cookie. She thought to herself she could do a much better job with creating one just as delicious but at a much more competitive cost. I came across Jess through her interview with Friend of the Pod JD on his new platform What's on Your Mind, where she spoke about her journey in creating the business and giving up a corporate job which wasn't giving her fulfilment. Jess graduated from university and completed a master's as well and followed the traditional route her peers were all going down. She landed a senior role very early on and then hit a wall and thought, now what? The COVID-19 pandemic then engulfed the world and she realized in this period she wanted to leave the role she was in. During this period as well, she went through grief when her then partner's stepdad died in 2019, and this was the trigger for her to take action and start to figure out what she wanted to do with her career. She went freelance and moved to Bristol where she landed a role as a graphic designer. However, she hated the organisation she worked for as it was a toxic workplace, even though she enjoyed the day-to-day role itself. She was unfortunately made redundant from that role and then switched career again and became an office interior designer. However, she experienced similar issues in this job too, with office politics and clicky behaviour dominating her experience, as well as being undervalued and overlooked as well. This job was affecting her mental health and her relationship with her partner, and she knew something needed to change. She founded the bakery in the business, quit that job, and switched career once more to become a barista so she could balance growing the business and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. We discussed this entire professional journey, what she's learned along the way, the importance of taking yourself out of your comfort zone and following your dreams, wherever it may lead. For Jessie's mental health journey, we discussed a breakdown she had during that period in 2021. Her experience of depression and being prescribed antidepressants, specifically Sertralin and SSRI, which she was on for a year and then came off it two years ago at time of recording. We finished by discussing the importance of her friends in believing in her and the business, supporting it, and giving her the belief that she can make it a success. So this is how my conversation with Jessica Newin went. Jess, welcome to the Just Check In Pod. Thank you so much for letting me check in with you. When I came across your story on Friend of the Pod at JD's amazing new platform, What's on Your Mind, I was so keen to have you on, and I saw your interview also went semi-viral. So I hope it's brought some amazing conversions for you to the business. How are you, first of all, on this Sunday morning?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, actually, really, really good. So, first and foremost, yeah, OTSA's is absolutely thriving. After that interview, had a good couple of people want to know more about the cookies, and I managed to bag a uh wholesale order. So things are going well. And to be honest, today it's not rainy. So I'm very happy.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Well, it is in London, so I can't uh can't speak for London here.

SPEAKER_05

Oh no.

SPEAKER_02

No, no, it's not great. You have already been on such a varied journey with your professional life, Jess. And we've got loads to talk about in your mental health journey too. So without further delay, are you ready to start the show and talk all about it?

SPEAKER_05

Let's do it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

We're going to start your podcast, Jess, by talking about your professional journey as you've done lots of different roles before landing where you are now with the business. So tell me back to the beginning if you can. You come out of university with a BA and then you do a master's, and you need to figure out what your career is going to look like. So what were your first steps?

SPEAKER_05

So, first steps in my mind was go with what I know, which was okay, university needs to get a job. At this point, I was like, right, I want to utilize my BA and my MA. So I applied for a job as a creative coordinator for an exhibitions and events company. Didn't realise it was senior until about maybe two months into the role, and I got a company card, and I was like, oh my god, this was way more intense than I thought it was going to be.

SPEAKER_02

After that period, you then hit a kind of proverbial wall and you think, now what? So what was the answer to that at the time?

SPEAKER_05

So at the time, it was just assessing what I had around me to jump ship to. So I didn't really have anything. So it was like, okay, I'll just keep going with this for as long as I can and see what I want to do. But I remember in the car journeys going to work, it was like, what do I want? Am I happy? What's going to make me happy? And looking at other options and other opportunities for me to try and get into. So for that time period, it was like, right, I have never really lived abroad, so should I do that? Or maybe I should start teaching English in a different country or something like that. So it was more just a case of like having a look at what is to offer for me, kind of thing.

SPEAKER_02

I want to change course slightly here because we fast forward to July 2019 and you go through a difficult period of grief when your ex-partner, but then current boyfriend at the time, his stepdad dies quite suddenly. Now we're not going to go into details of that to obviously protect his privacy. But just tell me what you can about the event and how your mental health was impacted from the point that he died to the ensuing sort of months and weeks afterwards.

SPEAKER_05

So honestly, it happened so fast. No one prepares you for what's coming. Like he was a fit, 17-year-old guy, literally in the morning doing push-ups. So it was a case of like everything was fine. And then in just one moment, one phone call, as cliche as it sounds, just changed it all. It went from being a normal day to a what is going on. And then the thoughts that go through your head is like, this isn't real. I'm not accustomed to death at all. Like, I don't think anyone really is. So for me, like this was like my biggest case of like loss. And I think the realization of I'm never gonna talk to this person again. I'm never gonna have those conversations, these memories that I've got with them is now just a memory. It really hit home. And I think I kind of like I put up like a brave front, as it were, to like my friends and family saying that, oh yeah, yeah, I'm I'm fine. Don't worry, I'll be here for you. When actually I needed someone to be there for me, I just didn't realize or understand it because I didn't even know that. It was only up until I had like a bit more of like a breakdown period where me and my my ex-partner now broke up that I was like, I'm really alone and I need something, someone, because I have so many thoughts and feelings that I don't understand, I don't know what to do with. So from that, it was a case of like where do I go from here?

SPEAKER_02

And after that period, how much of it was a wake-up call for maybe your own mental health or what you wanted to do with life, maybe taking more risks or kind of taking leaps where you could, but also at the same time being more grateful for life or being more grateful for the people in your own life that were still here too.

SPEAKER_05

It taught me that life is short. Full stop. That is it. Like anything can happen in the next half an hour. And for me, I was like, I need to do something, things need to change within me because I'm not happy, I'm not even content at this point. Something has to change, and to take any opportunity, like I've always been more of a risk taker. And like by being in like such a corporate role and having to be so professional, I lost that side of me. So although it was a really horrible situation to go through, it really kind of like shook me up to think I need to be happy before anything does happen to me, or like if I do pass, I just want to be sure that yeah, I made the most of my time and my moments and to grab every opportunity because I knew for me that's what I would want as like my younger self, that's what I'd always aspire to be. So to lose that and then have this awful moment to actually realize that you have to hit the lows to get to the highs for me. So I was like, yeah, let's see what we can do about this.

SPEAKER_02

I want to fast forward again because we get to the COVID-19 pandemic, you leave the job that you're unhappy in, and you start freelancing, and you also at the same time make the move to Bristol where you still live today. So who's the jest we meet at that moment in time there?

SPEAKER_05

So that's the jest that was literally just pressing the fuck it button for everything. It was just go hard, go home kind of thing. And she was just like, you know what? Let's just grab the ball by the horns and seize any opportunity that comes this way. So I moved to Bristol because my partner's there. And as well as that, I found like a new role that at the time suited my needs. So I was like, okay, cool, graphic design. It's something a little bit less project, something more hands-on that I can use my BA with. Therefore, let's do it. And at the time, there was so much more creative freedom that I was like, oh my god, I actually really love this. So it was a case of like the ballsy jest was back in play. She really came out in force.

SPEAKER_02

As I said in the intro, you loved the job itself, but not the environment. So, yeah, what impact did that have on your mental health at the time? Because as we'll kind of discuss in a little bit, you also made eventually redundant from that job, but you described it as a blessing to me off air. Just tell me about that and why you said that.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, so it served its time and its place. I needed a job, it was the job. The job at hand, it was great. I loved the freedom, I loved the design, the office environment. No one really prepares you for the office politics, the drama, the playground side of it where everyone's talking about someone else's business. Or unfortunately, I had like the extreme side of that where I experienced racial slurs, degradation, and witnessing like my colleagues also having that, but not being able to do anything about it. Who do you talk to? So no one prepared me for that. So I didn't realize it at the time, but anxiety encroached. Panic attacks would happen before going to work. I'd be walking to work, feeling my heart race and thinking, what's going on? Why am I feeling like this? And again, not being aware of my mental health at that point that I was just like, oh, it's nothing. I'm just, I'm being silly. It's just one of those things. And always sort of like casting it off when really I actually should have, like looking back now, I really should have just took it and thought, this is not okay. I need to do something about this. But at the time, you just don't know any better, do you?

SPEAKER_02

Well, thankfully, you get out of that environment and you switch careers in a smaller way because you go from graphic design to interior design in a new job. But again, unfortunately, you experience maybe not the same level, but you experience the same issues of kind of cliquey environments, office politics, etc. So at this point, because of what you said about not being maybe aware of your mental health in that sense, is a part of you thinking, oh, this is my fault here. Like I'm choosing these jobs and I'm going into them.

SPEAKER_05

Absolutely. Me thinking, I'm the problem. It's got to be me. I'm bringing all this negative energy, this drama to these workplaces. So going back to working at that place and saying, yeah, it was a blessing, realizing that actually it's not me because all these problems were there before, and I'm joining it, and people are telling me about all these different problems. So in my head, I'm like, well, how can I be the problem when these things already exist and even after I left, they still exist to this day. And I know that because these colleagues tell me about it, they congratulate me on LinkedIn or like catch up with me every now and then. And it's just like, yeah, you were so good to leave. And the new place that I worked in, again, like most jobs, everything's rosy at the start. Everything's like, oh my god, this is amazing. This is exactly what I wanted. Six months in, you're like, oh, the cracks are starting to show. You just made a comment that I don't know how to take. I'm just hearing things that I'm like, I don't want to be a part of that. And I guess, like, yeah, office life isn't me, corporate life isn't for me. I'm not that kind of person. But I just want to do my job and go home and enjoy my life. I don't want to get like drawn into all this drama. It's just like, oh my God, here we go. And then again, the same rinse repeat started to happen. You go in, horrible comments are made to you that you don't really know how to react to because you're like, why are you talking to me like this? Do you have the authority to talk to me like this? What's respect? So, yeah, after that, I was like, you know what? I think this is my last one. I don't want to do corporate anymore. I can't hack it, it's not for me. I don't have the personality towards it, and I'm okay with that.

SPEAKER_02

Well, let's talk positives now because you break the cycle, and in August 2025, you launch your amazing micro bakery business, O Tuesdays. So tell me and my listeners about how you came up with the idea for it, the inspiration behind the name, and what you wanted to achieve with the business.

SPEAKER_05

Sure. So it was literally a project in the making. Like I've always wanted to do something more creative, I've always wanted to do something a bit more hands-on. And O Tuesdays, I didn't know the name at the time, but I was thinking of it when I moved to Bristol. When looking around, it was like, oh my god, this will be like a great place for a bakery kind of thing. And finding like those moments to save up, to put money aside to think, okay, even if I don't need it for the bakery, at least it's like my little rain pot of like if I have a bad day already that I can just dip into it, kind of thing. And it wasn't until like, yeah, I had a bad day at work that I was like, yeah, this actually does need to happen. So leaving that role at the time and jumping into somewhere where I could be like, actually, I can immerse myself and create my own culture, create my own work environment and be my own boss. It felt really liberating, really empowering. And I felt from then I was like, that's my spark right there. I've found something that I'm like, I want to do this. So going into it, I do that on a Tuesday, which is why it's called O Tuesdays. And because I hate Mondays, the tagline is because no one likes Mondays. And if you do, fair enough. You know, not gonna chastitize you, but Tuesdays are better.

SPEAKER_02

You said to me your fair cookies should be for everyone, right? And I think one of the sad things about the last five or six years is that the high street bakery, I'm using air quotes there, has become far more bougie. My favourite bakery in the world, per single, sadly no longer here. It's only an East London bakery, and it during COVID it went out of business, and that was a more affordable bakery, right? And now you've kind of got the rise of Gales, all these other kind of big brands on the high street dominating it. And even the sort of independent bakeries on the high streets across the UK are more bougie now. So we'll talk about it more in a second, but how much did your working class background kind of shape that mantra and your business goals of making cookies and all the other amazing products you'll no doubt go on to do more profitable but also affordable for people?

SPEAKER_05

So coming from like a background whereby my mum and dad worked their asses off and did everything they could to house and feed like what five kids. Yeah. I know, they got busy.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I'm one of four, so it's rare that I find someone who's got more.

SPEAKER_05

Big families, here we go. But it was a case of like seeing how they made them work, especially in the economy at that time. We didn't have like luxury, but we didn't need it. The little things that we did get were treats, which was every now and then, if you walked by like, let's say pound land or something, it was oh yeah, we can grab like some Maryland cookies. And I'm not plugging them, but they were good at the time. It's one of the things that it brings me back to nostalgia of if I had a bad day, I go back to comfort, which is oh yeah, that is what I needed, that's what I wanted. And to be in the economy now, whereby like I work as a part-time barista for a different cafe, seeing some families come in and look at the cakes, looking at the prices of them, and I'm like, oh yeah, I'm trying to get you winning cakes and like, oh no, not today. It's quite quite extensive, isn't it? Honestly, yes, it is, it really is. So having that mindset, my vibe was right, I'm making cookies. What's gonna go into these cookies that's gonna make it affordable? Like, okay, yeah, I do not knock any brand or company that create an incredible bake or pastry and want to charge it as what they are because there are overheads to have. But whilst I'm literally baking it in my flat, I'm already paying rent, I can actually absorb those costs and mark up on a price whereby it's still gonna make me profit, but it's not gonna break the bank for most people. Like it's a cookie, everyone should have access to things like that, and it should be tasty at that.

SPEAKER_02

Well, despite the fact that the loss of maybe more affordable bakeries has been happening in the last five to six years, one of the positives has been the rise of microbusinesses like yourselves and entrepreneurs trying to plug that gap, right, with where the loss of the high street has happened. But having a love for baking is one thing, making your own unique product is another. So, what was that protest, that creative process, I should say, like behind making your first ever cookie? And who did you go to for that kind of real, honest feedback you needed? Because if it was horrible, you'd A, want to know, and B, it would almost I wouldn't say kill the dream stone dead, but you'd want to know if you had potential to make it better, right?

SPEAKER_00

Or I should actually just give up on this because I'm a terrible baker.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, yeah, absolutely. No, this was like one of my biggest steers of like, I'm really gonna find out who my true friends are in a harsh moment. So with the cookies themselves, like in my mind, I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted crispy edges, gooey middle. For me, it's all about the experience of the cookie as well as the texture and the taste. Therefore, like with the little special blend that I've got, it's got that perfect balance of salty, sweet, crispy, gooey. And having all that in one, I'm like, yeah, this hits, at least for me. So originally I made it for me anyway. So even if no one liked it, I knew I would like it. And I'm gonna be my own customer here because I'll be my making the products, buying the products, therefore, I'm cool. But then giving it to market, I was like, okay, come on, friends, come on around to taste this, let's see what you got here. Give me as harsh criticism as you can. I promise I can take it. And they did. It was harsh. It was really harsh. I just thought, like crying feetal in the shower, like, oh my god, yeah, you know what, these are true friends, so enough. So then I worked on that and I was like, okay, cool, it's not crispy enough. Maybe I need to make it at a higher temperature. Okay, it's missing a little bit of like this particular flavor. If I adjust it ever so slightly, it's not gonna affect the texture, but it'll enhance the flavour in this particular way. And then going through maybe three or four iterations where I'm sure they're all like, yes, we're so done with these. Can we just not? Having that moment where they all kind of like looked at each other, we're like, is this a thank cookie? This is actually really good. I was like, I got it. That moment of silence, those looks, that's what I needed. And I was like, it's going to market and let's see what happens. So then my first point of call was before executing it and actually going into markets and selling was give it to the general public. So there's a park near me, and it was like a summer day. I literally just did a bake, sweating, and uh, I was just like, Do you want to try these cookies? Looking back, it was not a look. It was really not a look. I was desperate. I was just like, I just need to know that they're good and I can actually do this. Otherwise, I'm done. So walking around people, giving them cookies, and just asking them for a little bit of feedback and to be honest as well. They were just like, Yeah, the salt on top really enhances the flavor. We really like the amount of like chocolate to dough ratio. Oh, I love the crispy edges on this part. I love it, how you get inside, it's like really good. And I was like, Okay, this is good. This is really, really good. And then again, it was like, okay, if I were to sell this cookie, truthfully, would you buy it? And they said yeah, like they actually would. Some of them asked my Instagram, which I didn't have at the time. Some of them asked my website, again, didn't have the time, and it was like, oh my god, this is actually gonna happen. So from then I was like, you know what? Fuck it, button. Let's go hard in and just do it. So I dedicated like the majority of my time, my money that I saved up into this, and it's been the biggest risk I've taken. But so far, touch wood, it's going well.

SPEAKER_02

Well, tell me about the launch of it now. So, how did you feel in the build-up to it and the moment when it was officially live and like, oh my god, this is real now?

SPEAKER_05

Terrified, fucking terrified. It's one of those things where at first you're playing it hole, you're like, yeah, it's just a thing, it's it's fine, it's nothing. Near the time, you're like, oh no, it's actually gonna happen. And then you're making these doughs for the launch, and you're like, oh my god, like this is a lot of dough. How many is this gonna make? Okay. We'll see how this goes. And then once it's launched, and you're like, okay, it's done. I'm just gonna leave a pretend it didn't happen, and then the messages come in, the comments come in, people are actually wanting to order, and you're like, it's real, it's real. Oh my god, it's real. Someone loved it, but it was a case of like I really have to adjust and adapt fast because it's an unknown field for me, and honestly, wouldn't change it.

SPEAKER_02

It's so much fun. For the listeners, you have three flagship cookies the original, the blonde, and the double so far, obviously. What was the thought process behind those, and why should my listeners buy one, two, or even three?

SPEAKER_05

I think it's about all of them in big troughs, you know? You got a wedding? You ask me. The original was my main one to start with first. Because when you think of a cookie, the first thing that comes to mind is that chocolate chip with your vanilla type dough. I wanted to enhance that and make it a bit more meat. So what I did was with the flour that I use, it's got more caramel notes to it. So as you're biting into it, it's not just a one-note cookie, it's like, ooh, ooh, that's a bit of something here. And most cookies don't use spices, but I put like my own little special blend in just to give it something to enhance again the chocolates, the salt. So as you're biting into it, it's not just, oh, okay, this is a good cookie. It's like a oh, there's more to this that meets the eye kind of thing. And then from that, I then thought, well, you gotta have your basics. Everyone loves a little blonde cookie. Everyone loves a double chocolate chip. So let's do it. I could have just called it white chocolate. That's boring. It's a blonde. It's a hot blonde. So let's call it a blonde. And again, what I put in it, it's got depth to it. It's not just a really sickly sweet white chocolate cookie. All the cookies have a lovely, sweet, salty balance to it, whereby it's not just I'm gonna have a bite and I'm done now. It's I just want one more bite. And maybe another bite. Okay, maybe I'll just get the box of these instead. Kind of cookie. And from that, I was like, all right, okay, cool. Again, let's see if this works out. So the first market that I did, tried it, and the feedback that I had coming back was literally it made my world at the time because I was just like, oh my god, like you guys actually really love this. This is a thing. I had families, men, women, children just come up to me to basically say, didn't expect that, but that was really good. I'm like, Yeah, yeah, it is. Enjoy it.

SPEAKER_04

Like, come back, buy more.

SPEAKER_02

You also rotate a special one-off cookie every month. So, what have been some of your favourites?

SPEAKER_05

Oh, that's a hard question. I think the OG, the one that started it all, that really got the ball moving from just being cookies to this is something different was the peach brulee. It was summer, it was hot, and peaches. I love the smell of peaches anyways. So having them in the bowl next to me, I was like, what can I do with this to enhance the flavour, to make this cookie something different? And so peach brulee was born. I love creme brulee, so put them together, let's see what happens. And then people really started to get interested, and then it wasn't just a case of oh she does cookies, it's oh, these are cookies and flavors that we won't get anywhere else. So the last one that I did, which I personally is one of my favorites now, is the sticky toffee pudding, where it's a filled cookie and it's got like a sticky toffee middle, but you also get a hot sticky toffee sauce that goes on top of it. So it creates that experience of this is more than just a cookie. This is fun, this is something to really get into. And I'm not gonna lie, like I think people grow up and they lose that sense of being childish, having a bit of fun. So getting sticky, getting messy, and just being a bit of an idiot, pouring like sauce into your mouth or like pouring it all over your pissy and eating it and getting it all over your face, it really invokes that sense of nostalgia, at least for me, anyway. So for me, like these are the things that I want to invoke in people is that nostalgia, that sense of never grow up, because you know, a cookie's a cookie, but it will always have that memory of fun, of better times kind of thing.

SPEAKER_02

You wouldn't do this if you didn't love baking, but I imagine there's been times when baking's been a bit more stressful than it has been enjoyable. So, what does the process of it have on your mental health, Jess?

SPEAKER_05

Oh honestly, it's really helped, it's exerting, it's stimulating, it's getting my frustration out on dough. I could just mash the dough, and then that's it, that's my stress out. If I'm having a bad day, where's the dough? Get it all out on it. But in terms of that, yeah, like I actually didn't know I could bake before this. It's also been a very big learning curve to understand the science behind it. But learning these things is one of my things. I love learning, I love knowledge, I love understanding new things. So knowing that there was a science behind baking, it really made me tick of okay, what's the difference between, I don't know, baking powder versus bicarb soda? What would that do? How would that affect the cookie? Going into the iterations uh when they were first previously done it was like, oh wow, one makes it rise, one makes it spread. That's really interesting. Now to find balance. So it's constantly like testing my knowledge, constantly forcing me to experiment. And it just makes me so happy. Like once I get a result that I'm like, oh my god, this is something I've created. This is something that's backed up by my knowledge, and I'm making other people happy by doing it. It's kind of a fulfilling prophecy, I guess. I want to make people happy, I want to make myself happy. And by doing this, everyone gets hit on the checklist. So the mental health is on the up.

SPEAKER_02

You are an entrepreneur and business owner now, and I interviewed my old work colleague, Tanika Dabson, who also left her job to pursue her business. She co-founded with her sister, and she spoke to me about the joy of connecting with other female founders, like a female business sisterhood, if you will, who are on the same journey she is. Is that something you found to yet, despite you still being quite early on?

SPEAKER_05

Half and half. Like, I can't say that I've like specifically found it to be like female-based, but maybe that's just because I haven't reached out to a lot of people within like my industry. But now I am making moves to get to know the people in my industry to understand where they're coming from. And to be honest, male or female, they've all been so helpful with their advice, their own knowledge, and everyone is just willing to share. Like, I find that with most people, all you've got to do is ask, and they're more than happy to tell you anything you want to know. So I feel like everyone has been so empowering. And the girls that I have spoken with, there's this girl in the park that owns a little coffee shop, and she just literally told me the loadow of everything that was going on in her company. And I was like, wow, like this is actually so insightful. Thank you so much for this. And you just feel like there is definitely like a community whereby now that you fall into it, you can kind of relate to it. You can go like, yeah, I'm having those hardships too. How are you overcoming that? Oh, incredible, this is what I'm doing. So everyone gets to share those little breads of knowledge because we all want to see each other thrive. And I think that's kind of like a really nice thing that people have in this community is that we're all so supportive of each other. It's not just, oh yeah, I can do a better cookie than you. It's not that. It's like, oh, your cookie's really good. Have you tried my? Yeah, I have. Oh my god, this is amazing. Let's have a collab kind of thing. It's lovely that way.

SPEAKER_02

You spoke earlier about managing Oh Tuesdays alongside your current job as a barista. So I want to talk about work-life balance here. You have to be like me with Ven in the podcast, your own photographer, social media manager, brand guardian, publicist, finance manager, alongside everything else you have to do. How do you manage that challenge when it comes to your mental health?

SPEAKER_05

This is where the stress comes in. This is where it all kicks in. So going back to when I was a creative coordinator, having that like organizational side of me, it's all about time management. It's all about understanding where you're able to put time towards and reflecting it back on when you cue your posts. I think, as you know, when you're doing a post, it's not just like, oh, I can do one every single day. It's like I need to cue this for the week, for the weeks, even. And as long as you've got something in the week moving, you don't have to think of it as much. But it's using that feature site to recognize that okay, this is really gonna help me in the future, even though right now I just want to sit on my sofa, have a cup of tea, and watching Love Island right now. So I feel like that's it. Like small ripples make big waves, and even if it's just something small, like a little bit of admin, as long as you do it, you'll see it in the future. And that's what it's been like with O Tuesday, with everything, with taking photographs. It's like if it's a nice day, I'm like natural lighting, let's get a cookie out. Let's do some, I don't know, product photography, let's get a bit of marketing done today. Now I need to look at finances. I hate looking at finances, but thankfully I built up a good enough spreadsheet that things work and I understand where I'm losing, where I'm gaining, and where I need to improve versus what's actually like, you know, being successful, etc. So I would say, yeah, mental health is good at the moment. At the moment, if things get bigger, I'm gonna need help. But at the moment, we're all good. Everything is being organized and managed.

SPEAKER_02

Well, let's talk about expansion then. So have you mapped out a long-term goal about how you hopefully get O Tuesdays to where that is, whether that's, you know, to do with accessing finance or things like that yet?

SPEAKER_05

Yes. So at the moment, the expansion is because at first it was just collections and deliveries, and then it's spec's how to markets. And now that I've done the markets, I'm like, they need to be bigger. So again, like talking to other vendors and asking what they do, it was okay, if this is a market that you do, try a festival. So yeah, I've now been invited and accepted and confirmed as part of Bristol Feast on Festival, my first ever festival, and this is the announcement to it. So I'm looking really forward to that and seeing how that goes. But then from there, it's like, okay, cool. If I can cater to this many people, the next step is UK nationwide deliveries. Because at the moment I'm doing wholesale. So the number of that will obviously increase, and that's what I want in terms of like projection and the movement going forward. But also like to get everyone in the UK to understand that O Tuesdays is not just a Bristol-based brand, you can actually just get it online, etc. But again, behind that, there's all the legwork, it's getting the packaging right, finding the right courier, because most couriers at the moment are just throwing everything out of boxes, and I can't have the cookies come in as crumbs. So there's a lot I'm trying to figure out beforehand. But in terms of projecting, I do want to move this forward and I do want to enable it to become a bigger brand, whereby it's me and a little team baking, creating, and yeah, essentially giving people like a work, a company culture, even that I want to be a part of.

SPEAKER_02

Before we reflect, you said to me off air that oh Tuesdays has given you a new lease of life. What did you mean by that?

SPEAKER_05

I feel really happy. Like before it was like, oh, I'm just content, it's whatever. And now, like, I actually have that happiness going forward. I've hit the things that I wanted from a role, as it were. I get to work hard so I feel like I'm stimulated. I get to create a product that's not only tasty, it looks great. And then I get to make people happy with that. As well as although it's a lot of work, I still get to use my creative side. I do my designs, I do my marketing, I get to be a part of what's gonna work for my Instagram, for instance, or like how I want my website designed. So it's every little piece of the pie that I'm like, this is exactly what I wanted, and now I've got it. I'm so happy. I want to wake up in the morning, I want to get up at 6 a.m. and start my cookies. I don't care if I have to go to bed at like 5 a.m. even because I've been baking for a market. Because I know that I want to do it.

SPEAKER_02

We spoke about friends showing tough love earlier in the pod, right? So, how have they shown up for you in a different way, in a more openly positive way, shall we say? Whether that comes to buying the cookies, whether that comes to coming to the market stalls, or that comes to helping out on the stalls, anything else?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, so I have uh a good number of friends that rotate that come over to help out. And to be honest, they've been so supportive, both with their words, with buying from me. It's just been like quite nice to see like my friends come over and they're like, oh my god, this is a thing, taking pictures, putting it on their own like Instagram TikToks. One of my friends, she's absolutely wonderful. She was like, I'm gonna take your cookies and I'm gonna eat it on my TikTok. And she's got a little following, so when she did that, I was like, Oh, okay, you know what? I believe you because this girl is brutally honest about food. So if I know she doesn't like something, she wouldn't ask for it. So I'm like, okay, cool. That's understandable. And then, like with most friend meetups that I have, it's always just bringing cookies. I'm like, yeah, is that good? And they're like, Yes, absolutely. So I'm like, okay, you guys are actually being truthful, fair enough. I believe you now.

SPEAKER_02

And just finally, before we come to our final reflections, you're obviously one of five, as you said. Your parents are proud of all of you as kids, but how proud were they of you and seeing you start this business and your siblings as well, by the way?

SPEAKER_05

Very like unexpectedly so. Like, not in a weird way where I'm like, oh my god, my parents will like be disappointed, but in the sense of like, I didn't know how proud they would be, because I get calls every now and then just saying, like, I can't believe you've done this. Like, I'm so so proud of you, like, good on you for just following through with you. You've always been that kind of person, so it's nice to see you achieve that. And bless him, my dad. Every time like I'll share something on my Instagram, it automatically shares on my Facebook. I don't even use Facebook, but I get notifications from him saying, like, this looks great, daughter, amazing. And I'm like, this is great. Oh my god. I texted you like you know last week and you have responded, but thank you anyway. So it was quite sweet.

SPEAKER_02

Let's reflect now. So, first of all, what's been your proudest achievement on it so far?

SPEAKER_05

Oh my proudest achievement is my first market, having to understand how many cookies I need to bake, the amount of planning that goes into it for, for instance, like the aesthetic of the stall that I have. I had to do that literally the night before. And that was a 5-6 a.m. bake. So I didn't actually sleep that night. I went in riding on a highlight, this is either gonna make or break, and it felt so surreal. It was just like, oh my god, this time has gone so fast, and we did it. So my friends who were joining me on the day were just like, this is real, this is real. I think that was the time where I was both proud, and the reality here of O Tuesdays is really a thing.

SPEAKER_02

And as a final question, pal, as well, before we move on, what has this journey, whether that's in your entire professional career or O Tuesdays as well, also taught you about yourself?

SPEAKER_05

I'm way more resilient than I thought I would be. I'm way more independent than what I realized, and that anything I want to do, I can do. As long as I want it enough, I can do it.

SPEAKER_02

We've talked about your amazing professional journey and all the incredible work you're doing with O Tuesday's Jess. Now let's go deeper and talk about your own mental health journey. So I ask all my special guests on this topic this question first. Tip me back to early life, teenagers, and looking back, were there any early mental health experiences, if any? Who's the Jess we meet here?

SPEAKER_05

That was a Jess that she didn't even know anything. She didn't realise what mental health was. Like I grew up in like a time where mental health wasn't really the main focal point of school, of education, or anything. So being aware of it, you don't really understand it. And like I've always been told, like, oh yeah, you're just, you know, hormonal, it's just emotions that you go through as like a teenager type of thing. I know. Like looking back now, I'll be like, oh, excuse me, it's really not that. But at the time, it's like, you know, you're just a teenager, you've got all these hormones about you, you're just a bit emotional, you'll get over it, you'll grow into it. I never did, and I always thought that was a bit weird. But again, like it's one of those things where because there's no focal point of it and information is so scarce at that time period, or maybe I just didn't know where to look. It was a case of like I can only deal with the cards I've been dealt with. So my version to get through it was I'm fine, I'm okay. Things are okay, and just move forward with that. Personally, I never got on with education, I always found it just to not really work with me. I didn't understand it. I did art. Art is so subjective. So being told I'm being graded on art, I was like, isn't it just subjective to be exactly?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, when you think about it that way, it actually is a bit mad.

SPEAKER_05

Like this doesn't make any sense to me. But trying to voice that, they were just like, it is just what it is, it's a criteria. And you're like, so I'm just part of a criteria. I didn't like that. So going forward, it was like those things, things that didn't make sense to me that didn't click, I wasn't able to move past from. So yeah, I I became a bit of a I wouldn't say a dropout from college, but I wasn't really seen in most lectures. I still ended up like getting my marks when I needed them because I went to university, but I always found it a bit of like a slog to get through because it didn't work with my personality or how I understood the world at that time. So that Jess, I would say, just didn't know any better and finding her feet in that world where you're just being told constantly go to college, go to university, get a job. It was like, right, this is all I know, this is all I can work with, so fine, let's do it.

SPEAKER_02

And when it comes to values as you were growing up, Jess, as I understand it, your dad is Vietnamese and your mum is mixed heritage, so white and black Jamaican specifically. So, how did that mix give you different values or different cultural experiences that you kind of used to shape your identity growing up, but also not let it define you either?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, so growing up, it was interesting because it wasn't like my friends and how they they had experienced life kind of thing. For me, we had more discipline, a lot more rules, not necessarily in like a bad way, but it just felt like, oh, my friends don't have this, why do I kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, your mum had five kids, she had to have discipline at some point, mate. Otherwise, nothing would get done.

SPEAKER_05

Very true. Work ethic was mad, honestly, dude. Cleaning constantly, cleaning up after five kids of like all very similar ages, and looking back, I'm like, damn, she was superwoman. Says that would not be me.

SPEAKER_02

What was the mix as well? What is your sibling mix?

SPEAKER_05

So I have one brother who's my oldest, and then one brother.

SPEAKER_01

Whoa, your poor dad.

SPEAKER_05

Poor boys, honestly. I just feel for them.

SPEAKER_01

They had no say.

SPEAKER_05

No. We ruled the roots, and I love that.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05

In terms of like, yeah, growing up like culturally, it was more than anything shaped by food than it was rules of discipline. It was like something new on the table every day, something that most people haven't heard of, like butt or goat curry and stuff like that. And like talking about at school, because I went to mixed school, anyways, where everyone was like of like mixed cultural heritage, everyone could somehow relate. And again, it was something that brought people together. So the community of food just became like a big thing of like, oh yeah, mum's making like goat curry tonight, and they'll be like, oh, my mum's doing like a chicken patty, and I'll be like, Oh my god, I know what that is, holy cra Holy Christ kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00

Vietnamese and Jamaica cuisine together is crazy, by the way. That is crazy. That's like the top two cuisines in your house every day.

SPEAKER_05

Like, literally, honestly, yeah, best thing. So, um, hate to say this, but I did put on a good amount of weight by choice. I was like, oh man, when the food is good, it hit so badly. And it's only later in life that I was like, discipline is a real thing. I need to I need to balance.

SPEAKER_02

So yeah, it was good. It's really interesting what you say because I know loads of people from mixed heritage backgrounds, and some have had really positive experiences in school, and some have had really negative experiences. So, for example, like when I've spoken to some of my friends who are mixed heritage from a white and black background, they'll say this common adage of, and I'm using air quotes here, I'm too white for the black kids and I'm too black for the white kids, right? Did you ever experience any of that? I know your heritage is a lot different, but did you ever experience any of that or was it largely positive?

SPEAKER_05

So, for the majority of it, it was rather positive because before going to school, my mum ingrained in us that it doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, if you teach everyone with respect, they'll do it for you. So you might get some people who are a little bit mean to you. That's fine. Kill them with kindness, be nice, say your highs and bias. You see them on the street and you say hello to them. And that's what I did. Like there was a pivotal moment where in like school we were in science, and I was sat amongst like um some of the kids who kind of like cause a bit more trouble, but then realizing why they were causing trouble, it clicked. It's because they didn't understand what was going on, they didn't understand some of the terminology, but I did. So as they were being quite disruptive, I would literally just tell them, hey, dude, like this is how we do it, like this is how microorganisms work here, this is what a pathogen is. Honestly, you got this. And like she opened them up that way. And then there was this one time that my table got told off because we were talking and they blamed these kids when it was me. And you could think that they were just like, What? I didn't do that, I didn't do that. And I literally was just like, oh nanist, like we're actually just talking about what a pathogen is and they're understanding it. And my teacher, because I then used my voice to say, Nadie, don't pick on them, don't do that. They're actually just trying to learn. It changed like the course of my educational years because it was like, oh my god, like she actually just stuck up for us and didn't like dob us in. Like she could have easily been in trouble. But I've always been told, like, stand up for what is right. And I had like my mum in the back of my head saying to me, like, everyone's equal here. Sometimes you gotta use your voice to say what you need to say, even if it means that you're gonna get into the shit. And I did, and honestly, it was so nice to not be bullied anymore. Not that I was like super bullied, but there were a few like comments here and there. But ever since that, it was like, nah, dude, don't do that to Jess. And they would extend it to other people of nah, don't do that to that person or leave them alone kind of thing. And it was just really interesting to observe that. So I'd say like maturing in that way from the home and being taught those ethics has really sort of like helped sculpt my teenage years and just my educational years and how I see people. Because although, like, yeah, okay, I don't fit into one collective pot, it doesn't matter. It's how you treat people, and that's the thing that really gets to people, that relationship that you create.

SPEAKER_02

I want to come back to 2021 again here because you mentioned it earlier in the pod. You're in that toxic work environment, it's causing you severe mental health difficulties, you have a breakdown. Just tell me about the build-up to that, that breaking point, and how it impacted your mental health afterwards, pal.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. So it was just a collection of not understanding what was going on, like depression. I always thought depression was just a sadder version of sad, and no one really had taught me anything more than that. Anxiety, oh, you're just a little bit nervous. So that will pass. But then feeling both at the same time, and along with like stress and not knowing what to do about all of that, I then went through this thing called like derealization, which I understand what it is now, but at the time it was like, I am not me, I'm so detached from my environments, my surroundings, I don't feel like I'm in my own body. It was the weirdest thing to experience. I I really, really feel for people going through it on a more consistent basis because I feel like really lucky to have recognized it and done something about it. Because it was just a very horrible, horrible time of everything's dark, everything's bleak, everything's got some form of anxiety or panic attached to it and not knowing what to do. Like even silly things like going for a walk while it's dark would panic me. And it's like I've never been that person. Why is it panicking me now? So yeah, like moving forward from that, it was like, okay, I need to self-help, see what I can do about this. I've always been that type of person to try and figure out what is going on before seeking like professional help just so I can understand what I'm saying, what I'm articulating. And if anyone else has gone through it, I can understand this is their things that they've done about it. Maybe I should apply that to myself, kind of thing.

SPEAKER_02

You take proactive steps, which is great. You book an appointment with your GP to talk about what you're going through. He diagnoses you with depression, you're prescribed an SSRI called Certralin, which you were on for a year on a 25 milligram dose. Did you find it helpful or not?

SPEAKER_05

At first, yeah. I'd say for me personally, yeah. Because of everything else I was doing as well, I feel like it kind of like aided that. So I was already, for me, like personally, moving in the right direction towards it, whereby I recognized I had an issue. I recognized, okay, there are things that I can do about this issue, and there are things that are slightly helping. I just need a little bit more aid. So talking to my doctor about it and having him explain to me your happiness is kind of like a jug in your mind. All you've got to do is top it up a little bit, and this is what the search team will do. So I thought, okay, with that analogy in mind, maybe that will help me go forward. Whether or not it's a placebo or not, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I have mixed views on that opinion, but I'll leave I'll leave that for a separate podcast.

SPEAKER_05

No, absolutely fine. I had like the same thoughts of when I was like coming off of it by my own doing, when I recognized I don't think I need this anymore, thoughts that were going through my head was, has this actually done something or has it just been because of what I've been doing? It's something I can't really measure as it works. So at that point when I was like, okay, I think I'm gonna stop this. It's because I had those thoughts of if let's say I feel really, really bad afterwards and I go through another deep dive again, then fair, they've done something. If not, then whatever I'm doing.

SPEAKER_02

Or that might be the medication withdrawal symptoms pal as well, which you've got to think about.

SPEAKER_05

Also, that, yeah, I didn't realise that you experience anxiety coming off of them and also dips and dives in your moods. No one told me that. And I think that's where I got a little bit angry because it's like if I knew that going forward, I don't think I would have been on the search renew. But I didn't want to experience it again. I've literally just been through this entire journey of I'm getting better, I'm getting better, I'm getting better, to go through another sort of like period of downfall where I'm like, I'm experience anxiety, and like even like today, like I do still experience like pangs of anxiety, pangs of yeah, like nude swings and stuff. But also at the same time, it's like, well, I'm not on search renew.

SPEAKER_02

I can't say it's not iatrogenic, yeah, yeah. It's not caused by a pill or coming off one.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, absolutely, yeah. So it's like, well, what's the point? I might as well just get off it now. And I don't want to personally live my life on medication and keep going up and up and up in dose that I don't need to.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, exactly. There's a whole separate podcast for that as well. Tell me about the recovery now, because you came off the medication two years ago and you also accessed therapy during this period. So did you find the therapy helpful or not? And if so, what tools did you learn through it?

SPEAKER_05

I didn't really find it helpful. Okay. The therapy itself, like it was good to have someone to talk to, I guess, about it, but just venting it out was one thing, and then doing everything else, I feel that's very much dependent on the person and how they view it. Like, I don't want to say like it's not for everyone because maybe it's just it's not for everyone, pal.

SPEAKER_02

It's not for everyone. That's that's facts, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. So at least for me, it was like, okay, journaling works. Like they did teach me a few tools that help me go forwards, like journaling. I always thought, you know, writing a diary is kind of cringe until I did it. And I was like, oh my god, like these are all my thoughts and feelings. Delete, fantastic. It's now in the ether, it's done. I wasn't a person who'd be like, dear diary, I'm having a really bad day today. Um, like, who am I? Who literally am I? Like, this is not my main character moment that I wanted in my life. But at the same time, it was good to just get everything I felt at. And then it got to a stage where I was like, I don't even need to write a dear diary. What the hell am I doing here? This is not on me. It was from that, like recognizing like these little things that I'm like, I can do this on my own. I want to do this on my own. For me, I want to do this for myself. And if I can get through this for myself, then I can take on the world. And again, not everyone has that mindset, but you just reach a point where things just click. And for me, I had that click moment where I was like, I know what I need to do. I know I need to do things that's gonna make me feel happier. I need to find that balance with my life, with work, friends, family for time for myself. Self-reflection is so real because I didn't understand what self-reflection was up until I sat on my sofa and again, just looking back at my life and thinking, okay, what advice would I give to myself when I was 18? Would my 18-year-old self say to me right now? She would say, Jess, get the fuck up. Do you come on, do more with your life? You're better than this.

SPEAKER_01

Your dad's Vietnamese coming in 100%.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. Absolutely. It's kind of like nice, like hearing like that echo in my head and thinking, I'm still there, I just need to enact it, and finding that little push to get through it. So going to the gym again was so helpful because it was like, okay, I can exert this stress, everything that I'm feeling. I've got this rush afterwards that I'm like, I feel so good about myself. This is incredible. Finding books as one of my ways to like get people to understand what I'm going through, how it's articulated. I'm like, oh my god, these words actually hit, like, I understand what they're saying because it's exactly what I need. So the books that I read was Indistractable by Nia EL, and it is um basically like how to control your life, different ways, different theories, different advice to guide you on different areas that you might need guidance on. Green lights by Matthew McConaughey, understanding kids' adversities. It's amazing. I didn't have time to read it. I listened to the audiobook and it was fantastic.

SPEAKER_00

I feel like the audiobook is probably better in his voice, to be fair.

SPEAKER_05

Oh my god, 100%.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

His emphasis on sound was I'm like, he's talking to me and I love it.

SPEAKER_02

And I was reading a lot of it in his voice in my head anyway, but yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Highly recommended, 10 out of 10. And yeah, like the last book, which was Mark Manson, The Set Lot of Not Giving a Fuck, absolutely resonated hard. It's not about being different, it's about being comfortable by being different. And I really it clicked me that there are so many more people out there who have that similar vibe of okay, it's time to be different, so go run with it. If you want to find a way in life, go find one. If you want something, go get it. And it felt comforting knowing that actually, yeah, I got this. It's it's it's scary, it's hard. But if I know I got this, I'm gonna do it.

SPEAKER_02

Let's reflect on your mental health journey as well, Jess. So, as a final question before we move on, similar question as the first topic. What has this mental health journey taught you about yourself?

SPEAKER_05

Ooh, so I'm a lot more self-reflective than I thought I would ever be. I never thought like my 13, 14, 18-year-old self would be this person. But being so much more self-aware of how I feel really does affect my happiness and my way of life, my relationships, etc. Like I can communicate so much better now, now that I understand what is going on through my head, the experience that I've gone through, how that shaped me, etc. And it's able to allow people to relate to me a lot more too. Because before it was a case of like, I'm an undershower, I don't know what to say, I don't know how to act. I've always been sort of like that person feel like, yeah, I'm fine, can't relate, don't know what that means. But now I'm like, no, like let's have a talk. It's so important to talk to people and to understand what they're going through. Because if they're going through a similar hardship as you or as you've experienced, and you're able to guide them through that in the way that you've been able to do that, there's comfort in that, and there's comfort in them knowing that they always have someone to talk to, and you've always got someone to talk to as well.

SPEAKER_02

Our final topic of conversation, Jess, and it's one I try and have with all of my special guests if we have time. It is a general nutter and quick fire chat about our mental health. So, firstly, how is your mental health out of 10?

SPEAKER_05

Oh, I'd say honestly, on the higher end, a good eight. Really up there.

SPEAKER_02

Excellent. What age were you when you became self-aware of your mental health and you realized that the feelings you were having weren't physical and they were actually in your mind?

SPEAKER_05

Oh, I'd probably say about 25, 26, pretty late on.

SPEAKER_02

No, there's no right or wrong age. Was it a Eureka moment or a gradual process?

SPEAKER_05

Definitely a gradual process. One that I really had to come to terms with, I guess, and really understand that actually all this is normal. Normalizing things to yourself is a lot harder. You are your own worst critic. You're always thinking, is there something wrong with me? Why haven't I understood this? But again, once things click, they just click and you have those and get it moments.

SPEAKER_02

If you can remember, tell me about the first or the most important conversation you had with someone about your mental health. So if you can, who was it with? What did you say? And how do you look back on it? Did it feel like this big moment or weight had been lifted? Or on the other, something quite easy, natural, and normal to do.

SPEAKER_05

So it was suggested to my mate as like a passing comment, really, of like, I'm not okay. Are you okay? And they were like, no, I'm not okay. And then understanding that there's so much gravity behind just being so truthful and honest with your words, and you're looking at each other like, oh my god, let's just vent right now. So it was like verbal diary on both ends, talking about our thoughts, feelings, and feeling so good about knowing that you're not the only one. It felt good, like knowing that okay, this is normal. People are going through similar things, and we can just get through this as long as we want to, I guess.

SPEAKER_02

What things do you find in life that trigger your mental health? So it could be things people say to you, a sound, smell, taste, sensation, or have you not figured all of them out yet?

SPEAKER_05

I don't think I've figured all of them out definitely yet. But I knew definitely like a stress is a massive one. For me, when stress happens, I tend to shut down a little bit. But again, recognizing that before it happens, I'm able to like put in play like the tools that I've learned to get over that. For instance, communicating it to whoever's around me to say, guys, I'm just a little bit stressed. Apologies for going a little bit quiet, just leave me alone for like a good five, 10 minutes. I just need to decompress that. Taking myself out of the situation just to have a little breather, doing like um yoga and meditation just to get myself through like those moments where I'm just like, I've got so many thoughts in my head. It sounds again so stereotypical like yoga meditation, but you just clear your thoughts. All you're doing really is focusing on different elements of your body and breathing. And it is actually so nice to come back knowing that okay, I've had a breather, I'm about to hit the ball running.

SPEAKER_02

You've mentioned a couple of there already. So, what positive tools do you use to improve your mental health or help you feel better? Which ones have worked and which ones have you tried but haven't?

SPEAKER_05

So reading the books have definitely helped. It just makes me feel that I'm not alone and it's such a nice feeling knowing that there are so many people in and around this world that are going through the same things like you are, but they're all finding their way to the yoga and meditation. Not all the time, don't get me wrong, like when I'm really, really stressed, I'm like, I don't I'm not doing yoga, last thing I want to do. But when I recognize that I'm like, okay, I just need to take a moment. Yoga and meditation definitely work, and talking about it really, really helps. I fully advocate talking to your nearest, dearest, a bloody stranger, even. Just say how you feel. It's honestly not the worst thing in the world.

SPEAKER_02

If there was a mantra in life that summed up your mental health, what would it be and why?

SPEAKER_05

When you know better, do better. You can only do so much with what you know, and when you know more, you can do more about it. You can share that advice, you can use it for your own tools, you can do whatever you want with it. But I always feel that like you really know what you know. So, how can you know better when you don't know better?

SPEAKER_02

What do you love about yourself?

SPEAKER_05

My optimism. Like, even though going through like really tough periods, there was always that little thing in me to say, nah, just one more day. It's always gonna be a better day. Find those moments of achievement, find those little milestones, even if they're so small, they'll do everything. I was in a coffee shop and I was doing my work, having a really tough time, just really stressed. And one of the breaches came up to me and gave me a hot chocolate. And it was like, it's just those little moments I thought there is still so much faith in humanity, and someone's able to recognize that, yeah, I'm going through a tough time. Those little things will make it better. And I guess, yeah, just holding on to those moments of hope and faith really do help you just achieve more.

SPEAKER_02

And as a final question, Jess, you can answer it any way you want. What more do you think we have to do to ensure people from all backgrounds, all social classes, all walks of life feel comfortable and safe in opening up about their mental health issues or just their general mental health, if most importantly, they want to do it.

SPEAKER_05

Honestly, your friends are not gonna shut you down or judge you, talk to them because I guarantee, fully guarantee, they'll have gone through something similar, or they just want to ensure that they're there for you and be supported, even if they don't even know what to do. The least that they can do is check in and they're aware that you're going through something tough. So it's just literally the smallest thing. It's the hardest thing to do, don't get me wrong. But once you've done it, that's it. You've got your friends there having your back, your family supporting you constantly, and you'll never feel alone.

SPEAKER_02

Jess, it's been an absolutely lovely chat. Thank you so much for coming on the Just Checking In podcast and talking to me.

SPEAKER_05

No, absolutely fine. Thank you for having me. It's been really lovely.

SPEAKER_02

Well, that's all we've got time for in this episode of the Just Checking In pod. A big thank you to Jess for being my special guest and for letting me check in with her. I'll of course put some links to where you can find out more about where you can buy a delicious cookie and follow OTuesdays on social media in the show notes. As always, thank you to all the vendors who've tuned in to this episode. Remember, if you've liked what you've heard, please give it a share on social media by tagging us at VentsHelp UK. Tell your friends, family or work colleagues about us. If you're feeling generous, please write us a review and give us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what we're doing at Vent, please consider supporting us by going to patreon.com slash eventhelpuk or make a one-off donation to our PayPal or buy event t-shirt. All of those links are on our link tree. That's linktr.ee slash event helpuk. We hope to check with you again very soon. And remember guys, it's a way to okay.

Contributor

Freddie Cocker

Host