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Mentally Interesting: 'Something to take care of'

Having pets has helped presenters Seaneen and Mark with their mental health ... though Seaneen admits it’s tricky hiding cats from landlords.

Hear listeners' stories including gaming journalist Sam's choice of animal which might be more distressing than helpful for some! His rats give him something to come home to, he says.

Pictures of pets mentioned in this episode will appear on our Twitter feed @bbcouch

With Seaneen Molloy and Mark Brown - every week in January 2022.

Produced by Emma Tracey.

Use your smart speaker to "Ask the BBC for Ouch". And subscribe on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

6 January 2022

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A woman in a wheelchair. She is wearing a black jumper and a white and black skirt.

The women who are asked 'how do you have sex?'

Shane Lewis-Hughes

Rugby mental health in right direction - player

A boy in a Kung Fu class

The Kung Fu classes helping kids with confidence

Lloyd running

Runner with Down's syndrome dances through marathon

A dog and a cat

How to keep pets safe during fireworks season

Bristol Rovers player launches mental health walk

Sarah sat at a desk with her back to the camera, with her had on a gaming keyboard and a screen in front of her showing a computer game

The 'cosy gaming' niche helping people to relax

Dog with toy bone

We foster dogs for women escaping domestic violence

Volunteers and artists sat around a table during a pottery session in Chilli Studios

Studio supporting mental health through art

Claire Sugden has long dark hair and is wearing a pink shirt and blue jeans as she talks to the camera. She is sitting on a brown leather sofa with family photographs on the unit behind her.

Politician 'really struggled' with postnatal anxiety

Northern Ireland

Caroline Dorsett

'People can be reluctant to give you a wheelchair space'

Northern Ireland

Man in dark jacket with blue shirt

'How could my head do that to my body?'

Northern Ireland

Jennie Berry, on Newcastle's Grey street during Sociability mapping day

'It's not as simple as saying we're accessible'

Joanne Scott

Disabled woman forced to sleep in stairwell

Muriel and Ibraheem at a coffee machine

Café trains adults with learning disabilities

Rhiannon Williams with her dog

'Why didn't we see,' asks dad after daughter's suicide

Maddie with the two binmen

Meet the dog brightening up a weekly bin round

Northern Ireland

Nate Byne presenting the weather on ABC News Breakfast

Weather presenter speaks out about on-air panic attack

Stella the cat meows at her front door

Is this London’s most adventurous cat?

Carriage horse Sam and stables manager Natalie

Carriage horse helps disabled people enjoy riding

Ms Hall and her assistance dog, Sailor

Assistance dog turns RSPCA inspector's life around

Caroline Hall says her dog Sailor has improved "every aspect" of her life after a spinal stroke.

Michael and James Owen

'I'd swap eyes with my son if I could'

Former England striker Michael Owen says he would "swap eyes" with his son if it was possible to help the teenager see again.

The Tame family in the woods

Disabled parenting: ‘There’s loads of joy’

Nina Tame speaks to Anita Rani about her experience of being a parent with spina bifida.

Nikki Fox in front of a purple background

Huw Edwards on depression: 'I'm not the least bit embarrassed'

The News at Ten presenter on his own depression and TV news.

Huw Edwards

Huw Edwards on depression: I'm not embarrassed

The News at Ten presenter on his own depression and TV news.

The mystery of the missing disability minister… solved!

Nikki and Emma meet the new Minister of State for Disabled People, Tom Pursglove.

One giant leap for disabled people?

The European Space Agency announces the world’s first ever disabled astronaut – and he’s a Brit!

What's in the Autumn Statement for disabled people?

Nikki Fox gets the lowdown on what the Autumn Statement means if you're disabled.

Elephant calf eating grass

'How does a blind girl go on safari?'

Visually impaired social media star Lucy Edwards heads to Kenya for one of nature's most extraordinary events - 'The Great Migration'.

‘How Taylor Swift helps me to tell the time’

BBC Young Reporter Rose has dyscalculia, which means she has trouble making sense of numbers.

Rose, 18, has dyscalculia

‘Numbers look like a foreign language to me’

BBC Young Reporter Rose, 18, explains how she navigates life with dyscalculia, a maths learning difficulty.

'I'm visually impaired, but cancer information wasn't accessible'

Weekly podcast about mental health, wellbeing and disabled people. Life stories and solutions with a friendly touch – for listeners around the world. Presented by Nikki Fox.

Reece shows Emma how to hit with the tennis racquet

How do blind people play tennis?

Wimbledon brings tennis to the spotlight every summer, though how does the sport work when you're blind?

Isaac Harvey taking part in Wheels and Wheelchairs

Wheels and wheelchairs team up for high speed fun

Roller skating isn’t necessarily an activity a lot of wheelchair users might expect to take part in, but Wheels and Wheelchairs is helping to change that.

Liam

Teaching a new language to help win football medals

Liam is non-verbal and communicates with his teammates using a mixture of symbols, signs and speech.

Molly and Adele

Mum struggles with disabled daughter’s energy costs

Molly was diagnosed three years ago with Batten disease and the 13-year-old now relies on specialist equipment.

Pearson family

'Life without Covid rules is much worse than we thought'

Vaccines and treatments have helped many in the UK but Isabel, 11, is among those still at risk.

Amrit

'All I want is for an employer to have faith in me'

Amrit's blind and fears she'll go through life never having worked, because no-one will take her on.

Seaneen and Mark on a BBC Ouch branded background

Mentally Interesting: Anxiety or heart attack?

When mental and physical health collide.

A BSL interpreter signing the 'thumb' with photos of CODAs Francesca, Ella, Jemina, Ray, Khadija and Alec

BSL signed: Stories from children of deaf adults

From a young age, the children of deaf adults (CODAs) take on the huge responsibility of interpreting for their parents. This signed programme explores their world.