Hurt to Healing

For this Healing 101 episode, I wanted to focus on something that quietly underpins so much of our mental health, so I sat down with Annalie Howling to talk about guilt, shame, and why understanding the difference really matters. We break it down in a simple, relatable way - how guilt is about what we do, while shame becomes a painful belief about who we are - and why shame can be so corrosive to...

In today’s episode of Hurt to Healing, I’m joined by Dr Alex George for a very honest and very relatable conversation about his brand new book Am I Normal? and what it’s like to grow up feeling different without knowing why. We talk about his ADHD diagnosis at 31, living with OCD, grief, emotional dysregulation and the painful “what if?” loops that can quietly run your life - and what finally star...

I thought this would be the perfect Healing 101 episode for January, so I’m joined by Suzy Reading, psychologist and author of Self-Care for Winter. We talk about why winter can feel so heavy on our mood, energy and motivation, how cold and lack of light affect both mind and body, and why easing our expectations of ourselves really matters at this time of year. Suzy shares practical, down-to-earth...

In this first episode of the year, I’m joined by the brilliant Julia Bradbury for a really grounding, eye-opening chat about what “being healthy” actually means when you look beyond the surface. Julia talks me through how her breast cancer diagnosis in 2021 completely changed the way she thinks about her body and her life - not in a “perfect routine” kind of way, but in a very real, human I want t...

On today’s Healing 101, I’m chatting with Pearl Lowe, who was recently diagnosed with ADHD - something that finally helped so many pieces of her life fall into place. Pearl talks openly about the signs she’d been living with for years: the chronic scattiness, impulsive decisions, the “hundred tabs open” feeling, and the unfiltered honesty that sometimes got her into trouble long before she underst...

In today’s episode, I’m joined by psychotherapist and author Kathleen Saxton, whose new book My Parent the Peacock dives deep into one of the most confusing dynamics out there: narcissistic parents. We talk about what a narcissist actually is – beyond the buzzword – and the difference between someone with a few narcissistic traits and someone with a full clinical disorder. We explore how growing u...

On today’s Healing 101, I’m sitting down with psychiatrist and author Alastair Santhouse, and we’re diving into a surprisingly tricky question: what do we actually mean when we talk about “normal” mental health? It’s one of those phrases we all use, but when you look a little closer, it gets messy fast. Alastair and I chat about why “normal” can feel so loaded, how it shapes the way we think about...

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Professor Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and author of the newly published Dealing With Feeling, to untangle one of the big questions: what actually are emotions - and how are they different from feelings, moods, or just “being in a state”? We talk about why there’s no such thing as a “bad” emotion, how emotions act...

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr Chloe Saunders, a clinician and researcher specialising in functional somatic symptoms and the mind–body connection. We explore what it means when your body begins to talk and medicine doesn’t always find the answer - fatigue, pain, gut issues and other flare-ups that don’t quite show up on scans. Dr Saunders helps us understand why these symptoms are real, eve...

Today I’m joined by the brilliant Annalie Howling - a performance coach, trauma specialist and author whose story is honestly fascinating. She opens up about hitting complete burnout at 29, when life looked perfect from the outside but felt totally wrong on the inside. As she puts it, she wasn’t intolerant to gluten… she was intolerant to her life. We talk about how childhood shame and perfectioni...

In this Healing 101 bonus episode, I’m joined again by Mariko Bangerter, regression therapist and healer, to explore how accessing the subconscious mind can unlock deep and lasting change. We talk about how our earliest memories - even ones we don’t consciously recall - can shape our adult behaviours, and why true healing often requires working beyond logic and into the subconscious. Mariko also s...

Today I’m chatting to Ro Mitchell, who so many of you will know from TikTok for speaking really openly about anorexia, ADHD and recovery and doing it in a way that actually makes you feel less mad and less alone. Ro talks about developing an eating disorder at 14, getting really good at hiding it, going into CAMHS and then hospital, and what it actually took to choose recovery for herself - not fo...

In this Healing 101 bonus episode I’m joined by Jonny Miller, nervous system educator and host of The Inner Frontier podcast. Jonny’s work was forged in something unbearably human: the loss of his fiancée, Sophie, to suicide in 2017. We talk about how grief completely dismantled the life he thought he was going to live, and how by actually letting the grief move through him instead of armouring up...

Today I’m joined by Pearl Lowe - singer, designer and author, who’s just brought out her gorgeous new book, Faded Glamour in the City. Pearl’s story is incredible: from a dreamy but chaotic London childhood to teenage rebellion, addiction, undiagnosed ADHD, motherhood at 18, and then a total reinvention - getting sober, moving to Somerset, and finding peace in creativity and slower living. We talk...

Today’s Healing 101 is a conversation with Kate Oliver - chartered psychologist, executive coach, and co-author (with her brother, Toby) of the brilliant book Rise and Shine. If, like me, mornings can feel wobbly because of that 4am worry spiral, this one’s for you. Kate has spent 35 years helping people show up better at work and in life, and she shares how a tough period of anxiety (and perimeno...

Today I’m joined by journalist Anna Wolfe - who’s funny, frank and gloriously unfiltered and we go deep on eating disorders and addiction. We talk about the binge–restrict cycle, the shame that keeps you stuck, sobriety, and the messy, non-linear reality of recovery. So much of what Anna shared resonated with me personally, which is why I found this conversation so interesting - and, honestly, hop...

Today we’re talking about everyday anxiety, overwhelm, and that loud inner critic that tells you you’re not doing enough. I’m joined by psychotherapist and author Anna Mathur, who’s brilliant at making mental health feel doable in real life. Anna shares simple ways to steady your nervous system (think a 60-second reset), how to swap “shoulds” for choices, set kinder boundaries without guilt, and b...

Today I’m joined by consultant psychiatrist and author Alastair Santhouse to ask a big question: what counts as “normal” mental health? We explore the difference between everyday ups and downs and problems that really stop you living your life, and how labels can both open doors to support and stick in unhelpful ways. We talk about why ADHD and autism diagnoses seem to be rising, how Alastair asse...

On today’s Healing 101 we’re talking about something that can hide in plain sight: exercise addiction. We’re taught that “more is better”, but when movement slides from choice to compulsion, the thing that helps us can start to hurt us - physically, mentally, and socially. To unpack that paradox, I’m joined by Dr. Martin Turner, Reader in Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University. Martin lo...

Today I’m joined by the brilliant journalist Harriet Walker. You may know her work from The Times newspaper, and perhaps you read her article about attending a psilocybin retreat. In this conversation, Harriet opens up about what drew her there - the low hum of anxiety, the mental load of motherhood, and that constant striving so many of us feel but rarely admit. We explore her experience on the r...

Hi everyone, and welcome to this Healing 101 bonus episode with the wonderful Bryony Gordon. If you’ve already listened to my longer conversation with Bryony earlier this week, you’ll know just how honest and generous she is when it comes to talking about mental health and especially her experience of living with OCD. In this shorter episode, I wanted to go a little deeper into some of the practic...

Today’s episode is a really special one with the brilliant Bryony Gordon, who’s been such a powerful voice in changing how we understand OCD. Bryony’s honesty about her experience - from intrusive thoughts to the shapeshifting ways OCD can attach itself to what we love most - has helped so many people feel seen. She’s written, spoken and lived her story with such courage and humour, and I was genu...

If you found Tuesday’s main episode with Kimberley Nixon interesting, I wanted to share a bonus Healing 101 with her too. This is a short, practical companion about what actually helps when a spike hits. We talk about moving from retreat to reach-out, turning the lights on shame, dropping the rope in that tug-of-war with your mind, and the tiny wins that count on the hardest days. Kimberley also s...

To mark OCD Awareness Week - something very close to my heart - I’m talking with actor Kimberley Nixon on today’s episode. This isn’t the “tidy house” stereotype. We’re talking about the real OCD: the disorder of doubt. Intrusive thoughts you don’t choose. Compulsions people can’t see. Kimberley shares her experience of peri- and postnatal OCD after her son was born - the fear, the shame, and what...

This coming week marks OCD Awareness Week, and I wanted to record something personal. I’ve lived with OCD since I was 12, and while I’m much further along in my recovery, it still shapes my everyday life. In this solo episode, I talk honestly about what OCD really is - beyond the stereotypes of tidy desks and neat sock drawers. I share what it’s like to live with the intrusive thoughts, compulsion...