My guest today is Bryony Gordon - journalist, author, mental health advocate and host of The Life of Bryony podcast. Bryony has written extensively and honestly about OCD, addiction, depression and disordered eating, and her new book, People Pleaser, is her first novel. It follows a chronically people-pleasing woman who wakes up one day to find she's lost the ability to put anyone first but herself - and the chaos that follows.

Bryony talks to me about why people pleasing is at the root of so many of the issues women face, what "good girl conditioning" actually costs us over a lifetime, and why hitting your 40s can feel like finally running out of patience for everyone else's bulls**** - in the best possible way.

We also chat about:

• Why people pleasing is actually manipulative - and why that's not the judgement it sounds like
• What she'd do differently if she woke up tomorrow unable to people please
• How early perimenopause brought back her OCD symptoms, and what finally getting her HRT right changed
• The three things she does every day to keep her mental health in check
• Why she deliberately picks the least flattering photo to post on Instagram
• Her female elder in her 60s who responds to every crisis with "so what?", and why everyone needs one of those

Follow Bryony on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryonygordon/

Listen to her podcast: https://www.instagram.com/lifeofbryonypod/

Buy People Pleaser: https://amzn.to/4scaxYR

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss future episodes. Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and author Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood and confidence on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Threads: @iamalisonperry. You can buy my book OMG It's Twins now.

Music: Epidemic Sound

Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.

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

My guest on this episode is Shakira Akabusi - women's health and fitness expert, regular face on daytime TV, author of The Strong Like Mum Method and founder of the brand new Strong Like Mum YouTube channel, where she's making all her expertise available to mums for free.

Shakira talks about the deep connection between physical movement and how we feel - and why, since becoming a mum, that link has never been clearer to her. She's also honest about what confidence actually means to her: it's not about perfection or having it all figured out, but backing yourself as a human being and giving yourself the same grace you'd give a friend.

We also chat about:

• Why releasing the pressure to be perfect was the moment Shakira finally felt truly confident
• How she manages anxiety and OCD on the hard days - and why that doesn't have to shake your confidence
• Her three go-to techniques before a big TV appearance or nerve-wracking moment: sleep, breathing and movement
• The 4-7-8 breathing technique she uses on set when she has 60 seconds before her segment goes live
• Why "keep showing up" - for yourself, not just for everyone else - is the message she keeps coming back to
• 
  

Find Shakira on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shakira.akabusi/

Find the Strong Like Mum YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE5DBny6x7gZgT7LdMxTxYg

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss future episodes. Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and author Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood and confidence on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Threads: @iamalisonperry. You can buy my book OMG It's Twins now.

Music: Epidemic Sound

Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.

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

My guest today is Poorna Bell - award-winning journalist, author and competitive powerlifter. Poorna has written for The Times, Grazia, Red and Stylist among many others, and her latest book, She Wanted More, examines the quiet revolution taking place among women over 40 who are questioning the rules they've been handed and rewriting what the next chapter of their lives looks like.

She talks with me about what those rules actually are, who set them, and why so many women in their 40s are reaching a point where they simply refuse to keep playing by them. Poorna is honest about her own journey - losing her husband in her 30s, navigating a life that doesn't look like her mother's and finding an unexpected sense of peace in that - and she has a lot to say about the mental load, the patterns that get set early in relationships and why in 2026 we're still having the same conversation about who does the dishes.

We also chat about:

• Why 90% of the 1,000 women Poorna surveyed said friendship - not family or romance - is what matters most as they get older, and what that tells us about what we've been sold
• The concept of "weeding" your life - and the gentlest way to let go of friendships that no longer serve you without blowing everything up
• Why the patterns set early in a relationship are so hard to shift later and what that means for the mental load conversation
• What it means to build a sense of purpose when mainstream society offers you precious little validation for living differently
• How strength training replaced diet culture noise, and why Poorna lifts heavy weights not for how she looks, but for the bones she wants to have at 80

Find Poorna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poornabell/

Find Poorna on Substack: https://poornabell.substack.com

She Wanted More is available wherever you buy books.

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss future episodes. Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and author Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood and confidence on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Threads: @iamalisonperry. You can buy my book OMG It's Twins now.

Music: Epidemic Sound

Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.

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