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, compulsions, and exhaustion that come with this misunderstood illness, as well as the long journey through therapy, medication, and finally finding hope through Exposure Response Prevention (ERP).

I’ve partnered with OCD Action to raise awareness and support others who might feel alone in their struggle. OCD is treatable — recovery might not mean silence, but it does mean freedom and learning to live alongside it.

If you or someone you love is struggling, you can find help and community at ocdaction.org.uk or through their helpline.

Let’s start changing the conversation about OCD - one honest story at a time.

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Website: hurttohealing.co.uk

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October is a big month for OCD awareness and in today's HEALING 101 episode I speak with musician Jessica Sweetman. We talk about what OCD really feels like when it spikes and, most importantly, what actually helps. No magic fixes. Just small, doable things that steady you, keep you creating, and get you through the wobbly days. We don’t overcomplicate it so if you’re after calm, clarity, and a few ideas you can try today, this one’s for you.

Find Jessica:

Website: https://www.jessicasweetman.com/

Instagram: @itsjessikamusic

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Website: hurttohealing.co.uk

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Few topics in mental health are as complex, charged, and deeply personal as gender dysphoria. For some, transitioning feels life-saving. For others, it leads to regret and the painful realisation that surgery or hormones didn’t solve the deeper struggles underneath.

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Az Hakeem - psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and author of Detrans: When Transition is Not the Solution. For over two decades, Az has worked with people questioning their gender, those pursuing transition, and those who later detransitioned. His work has given him unique insight into what lies beneath gender distress from autism and trauma to identity, shame, and societal influence.

This is not about ideology or taking sides. It’s about listening to lived experiences, asking difficult questions, and opening up compassionate space for conversations that too often get shut down.

Whether you’re a parent, a clinician, or simply someone wanting to better understand this issue, I hope this conversation helps you think more deeply about what it really means to heal.

Contact Az: https://www.nightingalehospital.co.uk/specialist/dr-az-hakeem/

Buy his book: https://amzn.eu/d/f3pGQ5m

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Website: hurttohealing.co.uk

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Welcome to part two of my Healing 101 conversation with psychiatrist and researcher Joanna Moncrieff. If you haven’t yet listened to part one, I’d encourage you to go back - it lays the groundwork for this shorter bonus episode.

Here, Joanna answers some of the most pressing questions about antidepressants: what they’re really doing in the brain, why withdrawal can be so difficult, and how we might need to rethink depression altogether.

It’s a concise but powerful follow-on to our main discussion and one that might just change the way you think about medication and mental health.

Try Bettervits for yourself, head on over to bettervits.co.uk and get 15% off your 1st order with my code PANDORA15.

Find Joanna:

Website: https://joannamoncrieff.com/

Stay Connected with Hurt to Healing:

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Website: hurttohealing.co.uk

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What happens when, from the outside, it looks like you’ve got everything - opportunity, privilege, excitement - and yet on the inside, you’re running on empty? In this episode, I’m joined by Sam Branson - entrepreneur, adventurer, musician, and yes, the son of Richard Branson - for a deeply honest conversation about burnout, purpose, and the long road back to self-acceptance. Sam shares the unseen side of growing up in a famous family, the self-imposed pressure to prove himself, and the moment on stage when his body simply said “no more.” We talk about inner child work, the power of music and creativity in healing, and what it really means to live from a place of self-love rather than constant striving. This is a vulnerable and hopeful conversation about what happens when you stop running, start feeling, and finally give yourself permission to be enough.

Try Bettervits for yourself, head on over to bettervits.co.uk and get 15% off your 1st order with my code PANDORA15.

Find Sam:

Instagram: @bransonsam

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Website: hurttohealing.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For decades, we’ve been told that depression is caused by a “chemical imbalance” in the brain - something wrong with our serotonin that only a pill can fix. But what if that story was never actually backed by science?

In this Healing 101 episode - part one of a two-part conversation - I’m joined by psychiatrist and researcher Joanna Moncrieff, whose groundbreaking work has challenged one of the biggest myths in modern mental health. Together, we explore where the chemical imbalance theory came from, why it was so heavily promoted, and what antidepressants are really doing to our brains.

We also look at why so many of us still buy into this idea, the role of the placebo effect, and what it means for anyone currently taking or considering antidepressants.

This is an empowering, myth-busting conversation that will help you make more informed choices about your mental health.

Try Bettervits for yourself, head on over to bettervits.co.uk and get 15% off your 1st order with my code PANDORA15.

Find Joanna:

Website: https://joannamoncrieff.com/

Stay Connected with Hurt to Healing:

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Website: hurttohealing.co.uk

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So many of us make promises to ourselves out of shame - “From Monday, I’ll be better. I’ll drink more water, I’ll stop doing that thing, I’ll finally get it right.” And yet, by Tuesday, we’ve broken our own rules and slipped back into self-sabotage.

In this episode, I’m joined by psychotherapist and bestselling author Anna Mathur, whose new book The Good Decision Diary is an invitation to step away from that exhausting cycle of all-or-nothing thinking and instead learn how to make gentler, more sustainable choices.

Anna shares her own journey of moving from self-criticism to self-compassion, why guilt and shame show up so powerfully in our lives, and how small, nurturing decisions - even the tiniest ones - can lead to real, lasting change.

This is a conversation about loosening the grip of perfectionism, finding freedom in the “grey areas,” and discovering that we don’t need an inner bully to succeed.

The Good Decision Diary by Anna Mathur is available now (Penguin Life, £16.99)

Try Bettervits for yourself, head on over to bettervits.co.uk and get 15% off your 1st order with my code PANDORA15.

Find Anna:

Instagram: @annamathur

Website: https://www.annamathur.com/

Buy her book: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/462726/the-good-decision-diary-by-mathur-anna/9780241707227

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Website: hurttohealing.co.uk

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in today’s Healing 101 episode we’re focusing on a condition that is so often misunderstood and misrepresented - bipolar disorder.

To help us unpack it, I’m joined by Rosie Viva - model, mental health advocate, and someone who has lived experience of bipolar 1. Rosie speaks with such honesty about what it really feels like to live with bipolar day-to-day, from the highs of mania to the lows of depression, and everything in between.

This episode is all about breaking down stigma, recognising the early signs, and exploring the tools 0 from medication to lifestyle shifts - that can genuinely help people find balance. Whether you’ve experienced bipolar yourself, know someone who has, or just want to better understand mental health, this is an empowering conversation that shines a light on both the challenges and the possibilities of living with bipolar.

Try Bettervits for yourself, head on over to bettervits.co.uk and get 15% off your 1st order with my code PANDORA15.

Find Rosie:

Instagram: @rosieviva

Read her book: https://amzn.eu/d/7xvlGGA

Find out more and get support for Bipolar at https://www.bipolaruk.org/

Stay Connected with Hurt to Healing:

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Website: hurttohealing.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.