Mental Health Matters
Mental Health Matters is back — now as a podcast from Feb 2026.
Due to popular demand, our TV show returns in audio form, bringing powerful conversations about mental health and wellbeing straight to your ears. Created and hosted by psychologist Dr Audrey Tang, and expanding on her Retrain Your Brain and The Wellbeing Lounge podcasts, Mental Health Matters goes beyond surface-level talk to deliver insight that’s practical, human, and genuinely transformative.
Each episode features expert-led conversations and reflections with practitioners at the top of their field, alongside real lived experiences that inform, connect, and motivate. Expect evidence-based tools, fresh perspectives, and honest dialogue designed to help you understand your mind...and use it better.
Recently shortlisted in the WRPN Webisode Competition, the show is produced by our award-winning studio recognised with the E2 Media Award of Excellence for its integrity and commitment to raising awareness in the field of wellbeing.
Real conversations. Trusted expertise. Making Mental Health support truly Matter.
Mental Health Matters
BETWEEN SESSIONS: It’s what you do when it goes wrong that matters
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Between sessions is a short reflective podcast from Dr Audrey Tang where she addresses a different topic that has been playing on her mind – with a practical challenge at the end to boot.
This week she reflects on how it’s all fun and games when things are going smoothly – BUT it’s how you respond when the going gets tough that really matters!
If you enjoy this style – try her podcast: Retrain Your Brain for Success – it’s a couple of years old now, but she still practices what she preaches there: https://draudreyt.buzzsprout.com
About the Show
Each Thursday at 4pm, we broadcast on LinkedIn and YouTube, with the podcast released simultaneously on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more.
Then every Friday at 4pm, you’ll also receive a bonus podcast episode (like this one!) - a carefully selected recent conversation offering practical insight and timeless support.
Wherever you listen, you’re invited to pause, reflect, and reconnect:
PODCAST: https://mentalhealthmatters.buzzsprout.com
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5dbYRwciNQ3c2hZwpsfxnNIvpijH4S2b
Today's show is hosted by
Dr Audrey Tang www.draudreyt.com @draudreyt
Hello and welcome to Mental Health Matters Between Sessions with me, Dr. Audrey Tang. This is the reflection that I do when things have been really bugging me, and this week I've been thinking about what happens when it goes wrong. Because that's when it really matters. Everything looks great when it's working. Flights, appointments, projects, when things are going well, it's so easy to give great reviews, to sing praises, and to pledge loyalty. But for me, I like to think about what you do when it goes wrong, because that's where the real test of character is. If you take flying, for instance, now I'm not necessarily promoting them, but I will always fly Singapore Airlines to Asia and Delta to the States because when things go wrong, lost luggage, delays, cancellations, they deal with it smoothly, efficiently, and before I even have to ask. Unlike a host of different airlines. And what I will say about BA is they're very quick with compensation at least. Right now, I was having work done in the house, all plain sailing until it wasn't. And then it was absolutely an utter shit show of project management. And you know what? That's the same with people. When things are on the up, it's easy to feel good. But what happens when they're not? Do you lash out and push the responsibility on others to save you? Or do you take control and say, right, this isn't working for me, so what will? And this can be true of our relationships as well. Who is there in your time of need and who isn't? But a little caveat with that. Are they actually supposed to be there for you? Is it really that sort of relationship? And if so, are you there for them? Because these are things we tend to forget. So let's come back. In the majority of cases, things go smoothly. And you know, when I talk about flying, for example, it really is only a small percentage that have problems in the bigger picture. But at the same time, if it's part of your job, deal with it. Resilience research suggests that there can be four outcomes to adversity. Number one, succumbing, two, getting through with injury, three, bouncing back, and four, springing forward. Thriving. In that latter case, in the thriving case, it is because the adversity, the things going wrong, has given you skills and unlocked strengths that you never knew were there. And then you can grow even more than you did before. When things go well, we don't actually stop and ask ourselves what part of this was really down to me. And this can be a very big life error. An article in Harvard Business Review reflected on why leaders don't learn from success, and they encouraged us to ask ourselves two questions when things go right. Number one, what was down to my personal action and what was down to circumstances or luck? Number two, what can be replicated? And this can go some way to unraveling the halo effect of ease. And this is the problem. When things go right, it's very easy to think, oh, that was all me and I can do it all again. But maybe not. I don't want to be hard on anyone, but the reality is that we're all in different situations. We all have different opportunities and avenues of help which may or may not be open to each other. But even so, we can often still take some sort of action. When I was writing my PhD, I found in my literature review something called the service recovery paradox. People showed more loyalty to a brand when it went wrong and fixed it than if it hadn't gone wrong at all. Things going wrong is inevitable and an opportunity to show what you're made of. So take it. If things don't go wrong, ask yourself what of this success was down to me and what can be replicated. And when things do go wrong, ask yourself, what am I gonna do about this? And how much of what I've learned can be used to thrive in the future. And if you enjoyed that reflection, please do check out my other podcast, Retrain Your Brain. It is two years old now, but the stuff on there I still practice, I still think about, and I still believe in. Thanks for listening. Have a healthy week.
