S8E10 How Changing Your Relationship with Your Thoughts Can Contribute to Better Mental HealthS8E10 How Changing Your Relationship with Your Thoughts Can Contribute to Better Mental Health
Red Roof Recovery show
Tanya Mcintyre shares a calm, practical look at how changing your relationship with your thoughts can support better mental health. Using mindfulness, nature walks, and gentle self-talk, she offers simple practices to create more space, kindness, and balance in everyday life.
5:45•21 Apr 2026
Changing Your Relationship with Thoughts for Better Mental Health
Episode Overview
- Mindfulness is about paying calm, non-judgemental attention to the present moment, including your breath and your thoughts.
- Trying to force thoughts away creates resistance; it can be more helpful to view thoughts like changing weather rather than solid facts.
- Creating distance from your thoughts allows space for neutrality, kindness, and self-compassion instead of automatic self-criticism.
- Movement-based practices such as slow, silent walks in nature can act as meditation for those who struggle with sitting still.
- Speaking to yourself as kindly as you would to a good friend supports steadier thoughts, calmer emotions, and better mental health.
“"When you create this distance, you notice that thoughts are not facts. They are transient, like a bubble rising to the surface of water."”
In this eye-opening episode, you'll learn about a gentle, practical way to shift your inner dialogue and ease an overworked mind. Red Roof Recovery founder Tanya Mcintyre, "your mindfulness mentor", offers a short, soothing session from The Harmonious Mind series, aimed at people who want steadier thoughts, calmer emotions, and a more balanced nervous system. Tanya sets the scene with her monthly mindfulness walks along a riverside trail in Goderich, Ontario.
People often arrive curious and a bit unsure, which makes them perfect stand-ins for anyone who's ever wondered if mindfulness is too difficult or a bit mystical. She explains mindfulness as "paying attention to the present moment, focusing on your breath, noticing your thoughts – and doing it all without judgment". Simple in theory, yes, but she’s honest about how challenging it can feel at first. What stands out here is how she reframes thinking itself.
Instead of trying to stop thoughts, Tanya suggests seeing them as weather patterns: some days clear, some cloudy, some stormy. "You are not the weather," she reminds you, emphasising that thoughts are "not facts" but more like bubbles that rise and then disappear. That shift creates space for self-compassion, rather than getting dragged around by every mental storm.
Grounded in mindfulness and brain science, this bite-sized episode fits anyone dealing with stress, mood swings, or unhelpful thinking, including those on wider recovery journeys. You’ll hear about silent walking as “meditation for people who prefer to move”, the benefits of forest therapy, and even the quiet power of hugging a tree.
Tanya closes by urging you to "talk to and treat yourself like you talk to and treat a good friend." It’s a brief, calming listen that might just change how you relate to your own mind. Could a simple walk, a breath, or a kinder thought be your next step towards better mental health?
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