In the Flip Thinking podcast you listen in on the intimate conversations Berthold Gunster has with his guests about their personal problems. Curious how the guests are doing now? Many of them shared an update with us a few weeks or months after the podcast. Scroll down to read all the stories!
Quick search? Press CTRL + F and type in the name or title of the podcast. On an Apple computer press command + F.
How is Christine doing now? (6 weeks later)
"After the podcast I tried to let go of desperately wanting to be successful. It is a struggle. But I am happy, now that I know, why I desperately need to be successful. I am less frustrated when I am not successful at something and aware that it takes time and that I got all the time in the world. There is no time pressure anymore. I am am aware of this want and why I have this want, but I am happy with the people in my life, my family. They are very kind and wonderful people. They are more important to me that being successful and I know that they love me. I do not need to be successful for them to love me. They love me as I am. Thats all I need."
How is Michelle doing now? (3 weeks later)
"How I'd like to thank Berthold for the nice and open conversation. Indeed I had an inner voice judging me when I didn't feel heard. It was great to put together the both, my being a grown up kid and not being heard. It gave me a lot of insight. In hindsight, my word was more to do with over-reacting, being dramatic and making things worse than they are. Since then, it's improved my relationship with my mum. When she doesn't hear me, I simply tell her she doesn't hear me and it doesn't affect my mood too much. Work in progress of course. I also told my dad about the podcast and even though he didn't listen to it, he said he wasn't the dad for us he wanted to be and it still hurts him today. I don't think I've ever been this close with him. So, thank you for starting the healing process with my inner child and with my parents and thanks for making me into a self loathed big drama queen that blows everything up"
How is Mary doing now? (2,5 months later)
"It’s been a great pleasure being a guest on the flipthinking podcast and I can honestly say the conversation with Berthold has had a positive impact on my life.
However, taking his advice and drastically changing the familiar way of thinking has been a difficult process. I soon discovered after the podcast that I am prone to create more problems in order to remain my own worst enemy and to continue to sabotage myself.
Being aware of this pattern is one thing, changing it is a whole new ball game. Berthold did warn me it would take some time as he suspected it runs quite deep, and he was right.
So, I take my time, try to be patient with myself and mostly accept that I am in fact enough. I want to do things because I enjoy them and no longer because I feel I need to prove to the world that I AM enough. I am here, full stop.
Thanks again for this opportunity. Yours truly, Mary Green"
How is Jochem doing now? (4 weeks later)
"The conversation with Berthold in which we unraveled my perfectionism, rigidness, inflexibility and task-focused methods has been very insightful. Once we hit that point in the conversation where Berthold told me I actually have a choice to do things or not, and that it's okay to stop with a project because I don't feel like it anymore, I felt this feeling of relief. Where I normally would not even consider stopping, because it would mean I am a failure, right now I take a moment to reflect and consider whether I continue this project because I want to myself, or because I feel the need to prove I can do it. If it is my desire to continue the project, I can also justify my actions towards reaching the end goal. In other cases, I am able to abandon the project without feeling like a failure. It helps to say out loud: "yeah, but obviously I am a failure so it's no surprise that I quit the project", making it humoristic since it is obviously untrue."
How is Steven now? (3 years later)
"Since my diagnosis and my visit to the Flip-Thinking podcast, I’ve been doing really well with my mental health. I have a clear treatment plan which involves therapy, medication, and smart lifestyle choices. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a depressive or manic episode (more than a year). My talk with Berthold helped me most to truly accept the diagnosis as the reality that it is. No matter what. That really helps!"
How is Marieke now? (5 weeks later)
"I look back at our conversation with a feeling of gratitude. Berthold gave me some great insights in how I look at myself. At this moment I haven’t given any lectures yet, but 2 webinars that I gave last week went really well. I made some jokes and I was able to let go of the idea that I had to be all-knowing. (until 2 people came online – whom I perceive as being experts – and I started sweating again, but I managed to let go of the fear after a while).
It’s still a struggle for me, but I’m able to see it less as a problem and more as a possibility.
I am getting better at adding humour to my thoughts…and sometimes I’m even able to say ‘I’m stupid’ to myself in the mirror, but that is still hard.
I’ll get there, but it might take a while, given the fact that I’m not that smart…"
How is Chris now? (3 years later)
"It’s been a while since I was on the podcast, and looking back things are certainly different now. Actually, it turns out I’m pretty much on top of things. I manage to successfully juggle a hectic personal and work schedule. Sometimes I still procrastinate, and I can be a lazy bum when I have some free time. But you know what? It doesn’t bother me anymore. I can look at myself in the mirror and say, “You’re a lazy person” and laugh. Because I know how ridiculous it is… and it’s not even that true. I’m just very good at relaxing. So many people around me are getting all worked up because they can’t seem to find a way to wind down… well, not me: I have mastered the art of doing very little. In fact, I wish I had more time to do nothing!"