Sunburnt Souls: A Christian Mental Health Podcast

In Part 2, the conversation goes deeper.

Sarah Wiseman opens up about anxiety, depression, motherhood, and the reality of navigating mental health while trying to follow Jesus. From panic attacks to hormonal struggles like PMDD, this is the stuff most people don’t talk about — especially in church.

We also talk about raising kids while you’re struggling, dealing with criticism, and why your weakness doesn’t disqualify you from being ...

She expected shame and found love instead. Sarah Wiseman joins us to talk about the kind of faith that doesn’t wait for you to get polished, cleaned up, or “qualified” before God shows up. We trace her story from being the responsible church kid to hitting a wall of heartbreak, addiction, and the party lifestyle, then walking back into church and realizing grace meets you while you’re still messy. If you’ve ever thought, “Once I fi...

If you have ever sat in a church service thinking, “Why can’t I just hold it together,” this conversation is for you. We get honest about neurodiversity and mental health in real life, where good intentions are not enough and belonging has to be built on purpose. 

Rayleigh Kemp joins us again to talk about raising her son Zane with autism and ADHD, and what churches can do to become sensory friendly without making families...

Church can be a place of healing, and it can also be the loudest, most demanding room a neurodivergent kid walks into all week. Raeleigh Kemp joins me to talk about faith and mental wellbeing in a way that gets painfully practical: what happens when your child loves God but struggles with sensory overload, separation anxiety, and the pressure to “fit in” on Sunday.

Raeleigh shares her story of growing up in a Jesus-loving ...

You can be the person everyone counts on and still feel like you’re barely holding it together. Sitting down with Susie Holt, we get honest about the gap between what people see and what’s really happening inside, especially when you’re a public voice, a mum, a leader, or the “strong one” in your community.

We talk through Susie’s faith journey and the moment she realised church attendance isn’t the same as a relationship ...

Church can be the last place people admit they’re struggling. I share a new live session from a Brisbane church where we talk honestly about faith and mental health, from the quiet pain adults carry to the rising pressure crushing many teens. Along the way I tell a story about meeting a man with Tourette syndrome and what his experience reveals about loneliness, stigma, and how quickly a community can pull away when life gets messy...

The questions people ask about mental health and Christianity are usually the ones we're all thinking about anyway. So I’m answering them plainly, with zero filter or desire to be eloquent. 

We start with why Sunburnt Souls exists and why I believe the church still has a few stigmas to stomp on. Mental ill health isn’t proof you’re evil or being punished by God. It’s an ailment, and the right response is love, kindnes...

What if the habit that takes the edge off is the very thing fraying your mind, your marriage, and your mornings? I open up about how “just a couple of wines” became a quiet loop of mediocrity that amplified bipolar swings, dulled my medication, and bled into the people I love most. 

Together we unpack the messy intersection of faith, freedom, and stewardship. I talk through the moment I drew a line with alcohol, how Austra...

What if your brain isn’t the problem—your code is? We sit down with Dr. Ash Morland to unpack the eye-opening difference between brain and mind, and why that single shift can break the ceiling on therapy, productivity, and peace. Starting with something as simple as coffee, we trace how predictability creates safety signals for the nervous system, then step into a live somatic exercise that turns theory into felt experience. You’ll...

Sometimes the relapse is sudden and loud—the kind of week where anxiety returns out of nowhere and dysphoric mania lights every fuse. I share the mess honestly: the regret of words that cut, the weight of hurting someone I love, and the hard road to repair that doesn’t hide behind “it wasn’t me.” If you’ve ever lashed out while unwell—or been cut by someone who was—this conversation lays out a practical, compassionate path through ...

Ever felt called and crushed at the same time? We dig into the life of Moses to explore how real leadership stretches the soul, from a childhood of unlikely rescue to the desert where calling and capacity collide. We talk about what happens when influence grows faster than your systems, why “what you’re doing is not good” can be the most freeing feedback you’ll ever receive, and how honest prayer becomes a lifeline when the crowd s...

What if your strongest flaws are the very channels God uses to shape your calling? We sit down to explore the life of Simon Peter, a disciple who rushes first, speaks loudest, and still becomes a steady pillar for the early church. From campfire denial to Spirit-charged preaching, Peter’s story gives us a front-row seat to how grace matures personality into purpose.

We start with the messy human side: impulse that opens doors, words...

A runaway prophet, a repenting city, and a God who refuses to be less merciful than He is—Jonah’s story hits closer to home than we like to admit. We open the book not to argue about a fish, but to wrestle with why a man who knows God’s heart would sprint in the opposite direction. The answer uncovers a tangle of anger, fear, and the ache for justice that feels righteous until grace walks in.

We explore the prophetic context that ma...

A quiet living room in Bethany, a sealed tomb, and a Savior who stops to weep before he calls a name—this is where faith and mental wellbeing meet. We invited listeners into the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus to explore how Jesus honors different personalities, different griefs, and the same deep hope. One sister serves, one sits, and both reveal something vital about how love moves and how souls rest.

We start with the...

What if your greatest risk isn’t suffering, but success? We dive into David’s uneven path from overlooked shepherd to celebrated king to show how formation in hidden places can hold you together when the spotlight doesn’t. This is a story about mental well-being, deep emotion, spiritual resilience, and the slow drift that happens when comfort dulls conviction.

We start with David’s early years—ignored by family yet seen by God—and h...

The story of Hannah opens inside a storm of rivalry, shame, and unmet longing—and yet it becomes a roadmap for hope. We unpack how a woman dismissed by culture and misread by a priest found language for her pain, courage for her vow, and a song that reframed value beyond fertility, status, or success. Along the way, we wrestle with the messier threads: a husband who minimizes real depression, a priest who projects his anxieties, an...

Fire falls on the altar, a nation gasps, and the prophet stands vindicated—then one threat sends him running into the wilderness. We follow Elijah through that whiplash from public triumph to private collapse and uncover a deeper story of how God meets burnout with gentleness, not guilt. If you’ve ever felt the Monday crash after a spiritual high, this conversation will feel like a mirror and a map.

We walk through the sho...

After 89 episodes, Dave and Jess Quak open up about taking a short, intentional break from producing the Sunburnt Souls podcast. This conversation dives deep into the rhythms of rest, spiritual renewal, and what it means to step back without stepping away.

They share honestly about attending to their inner life, protecting their marriage, finding God in the quiet, and letting go of performance and pressure. This is a heartfelt conve...

After a BMX crash left him paralysed, Nathan faced years of depression and doubt. Discover how faith, resilience, and community led to real hope.

What happens when your body breaks, but your spirit refuses to?
 This powerful Christian mental health story follows one man’s journey from a life-changing BMX accident and paralysis to discovering faith, purpose, and healing in the middle of depression.

What We Cover

1. The Crash and t...