Mental health problems are extremely common - it is estimated that 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives. Yet so many of us still view these illnesses as a weakness or a personal failure. On this week’s episode, I sit down with best-selling author and one of the most prominent voices in the mental health arena, Matt Haig to talk about all things related to mental health. We discuss how society’s understanding of mental health can be very limited and often very toxic and how talking about it and understanding the different textures that exist under its banner is essential. We explore the pressures put on us by modern society, how work place cultures affect our mental health and the need to teach our children about mental health. As someone who has suffered from depression and anxiety, Matt shares his own personal journey and explains how he finds optimism in dark places. Finally, Matt shares his top tips on improving the way that you feel. This is an open, honest and really important conversation – I hope you enjoy it!Show notes available at drchatterjee.com/61Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee/Follow me on facebook.com/DrChatterjee/Follow me on twitter.com/drchatterjeeukDISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you experience stress? Women and men generally experience stress in very different ways and women are much more likely to feel overwhelmed and exhausted than men. But why is this? Guests on this week’s episode, Drs Emily and Amelia Nagoski believe that the reason lies in the fact that what’s expected of women and what it’s really like to be a woman in today’s world are two very different things—and women exhaust themselves trying to close the gap between them. They explain the importance of separating the stress from the stressor. Stressors are the external forces that are giving you stress. Stress is an experience that happens in your body – it’s a physiological cycle that has a beginning, a middle and an end. And you can complete the stress response cycle even without fixing the problem and getting rid of the stressor. They explain the various ways in which we can do this – from laughing and crying to having a warm embrace with a loved one. We also discuss the importance of human touch and how imagination is a surprisingly powerful way of completing the stress response cycle. Emily and Amelia share their own personal journeys and share some brilliant tips, that are simpler, easier and quicker than you may think. This is a really passionate and inspiring conversation – I hope you enjoy it!Show notes available at drchatterjee.com/60Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee/Follow me on facebook.com/DrChatterjee/Follow me on twitter.com/drchatterjeeukDISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are all bombarded by stress throughout our daily lives and it comes in many different forms, but how do we actually know what impact that stress is having on our bodies? One of the key messages from today’s conversation is a reminder of how unique we all are. My guest on this week’s episode is nutritionist and researcher, Alessandro Ferretti, who has spent years researching the effects of various stressors on the body by meticulously monitoring the heart rate variability (HRV) and blood sugar levels of both his clients and himself. He shares the fascinating findings of his research and explains that what causes stress on our bodies can be different for different individuals - one man’s medicine really can be another man’s poison - and the way we perceive an event is key. We also discuss the effect of shift work on our bodies, how type 2 diabetes is not just a dietary problem, how the wrong timing of meals can act as a significant stressor on the body and the impact of caffeine and insufficient sleep. Finally, he gives some brilliant tips for optimising your health. This is a really informative conversation – I hope you enjoy it!Show notes available at drchatterjee.com/alessandro Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee/Follow me on facebook.com/DrChatterjee/Follow me on twitter.com/drchatterjeeukDISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neuroscientist and executive coach, Dr Tara Swart, explains how we can take back control of our lives by training our brains. She discusses the science behind 'the law of attraction' and the power of journaling and vision boards. The importance of mastering emotions, self-love, and self-care is highlighted. The chapter explores the impact of fear and negative emotions, the importance of sleep, and the value of making small changes for personal development.

We all know what to do to keep physically fit, but few of us think about what we need to do to keep our minds fit and healthy. Writer and mental-health and body image campaigner, Natasha Devon argues that just as there is mental illness, there is also mental fitness. She believes that mental illness is no different to physical illness – the mind and body do not exist in silos. She talks about her campaign to get parity of treatment for mental illness and require workplaces to have mental health first aiders – just as there are physical health first aiders. We talk about body image for both men and women and the role of social media. We also discuss why debating is excellent for building resilience in children. Finally, Natasha gives her top tips for maintaining mental fitness. This is a really informative and thought-provoking conversation – I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!Show notes available at drchatterjee.com/natasha Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee/Follow me on facebook.com/DrChatterjee/Follow me on twitter.com/drchatterjeeukDISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Although you can’t see it, stress is everywhere. Once pushed aside as something that couldn’t be explained, stress is now a quantifiable, identifiable, solid thing that has real physical effects on our bodies and our long-term health. But what can we do about it? Neuroscientist, researcher and guest on this week’s episode, Dr. Mithu Storoni, has read over 1,000 academic papers to answer that question. Mithu shares the finding of her research and explains just what stress can do to our bodies and how we can measure it using modern technology. She gives some brilliant practical tips on how we can buffer ourselves from the consequences of stress. I hope you enjoy the conversation!Show notes available at drchatterjee.com/56Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee/Follow me on facebook.com/DrChatterjee/Follow me on twitter.com/drchatterjeeukDISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do we need to eat in order to live a long and healthy life? World-leading researcher in longevity, Professor Valter Longo, shares his views on diet and nutrition in this week’s episode. We discuss high protein diets, ketogenic diets and the concept of a low carb diet. Valter believes that we have over-simplified nutrition by looking at macronutrients in isolation - carbohydrates, fats and proteins – but in actual fact, we need all of these in our diets. And just as there are ‘good’ fats and ‘bad’ fats - some that we should be eating more of and others less of, the same is true of carbohydrates. Finally, Valter talks about fasting and his novel approach to research whereby he takes ancient knowledge and wisdom and marries it up with the latest science. This is the approach he used when formulating the fasting mimicking diet (FMD), a five-day plan that causes the body to go into fasting mode. Valter talks about the amazing benefits the diet - such as reducing visceral fat and abdominal fat. Although it hasn’t been proven in humans yet, it has been shown to reduce fatty liver, insulin resistance and even improve some autoimmune conditions in mice. This is a really eye-opening conversation – I hope you enjoy it!DISCLAIMER: Dr Chatterjee accepts no responsibility for anyone deciding to undertake the Fasting Mimicking Diet(ProLon). Please read all the disclaimers on the ProLon website – they state that ProLon is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Also, that it should not be used to treat either Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes. Finally, please pay close attention to the ‘Is ProLon Right For Me’ section of the ProLon website if you wish to undertake the diet.Show notes available at drchatterjee.com/55Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee/Follow me on facebook.com/DrChatterjee/Follow me on twitter.com/drchatterjeeuk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CAUTION ADVISED: this podcast contains swearing and themes of an adult nature.What really makes us happy? Is it a big house, lots of money, marriage and children? Not necessarily. Yet so many of us base what we do upon the ‘stories’ we tell ourselves of what we think should make us happy without paying attention to whether these things actually do make us happy day-to-day. Professor of behavioural science and guest on this week’s podcast, Professor Paul Dolan, believes that happiness is subjective in every way and if we free ourselves from the myth of the perfect life we might each find a life that is worth living.We discuss how happiness lies in the small stuff, not the big life-changing things. It is located in the things we do and the things we pay attention to – and how we feel about those experiences. Paul argues that the right balance of things that you find fun on one hand and fulfilling on the other, lead you to a happy life. He shares lots of practical tips that can help us all find more fulfilment and ultimately more happiness. I hope you enjoy this conversation.Show notes available at drchatterjee.com/54Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee/Follow me on facebook.com/DrChatterjee/Follow me on twitter.com/drchatterjeeukDISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do life’s mundane tasks like paying bills, answering emails or booking appointments feel like a whole other job? The stuff of life never ends. It piles up in junk drawers, steals our time, weighs on our minds and, if avoided for too long, can have painful consequences. We are all drowning in things to do and it is a major stressor on our bodies – impacting our health, wellbeing and the quality of our relationships. A big part of the problem is that this “life admin” is invisible: we forget it exists, and the people around us don’t value the labour involved. Not only that, but the constant bombardment of unwanted work gets in the way of our big life goals and our self-care. This week, I talk to professor of law and author of ‘The Art of Life Admin’, Elizabeth Emens, about how we can make this work visible, better manageable and fairer. She gives some brilliant tips on how we can all steal back some time to do the things we want to and bring more calm into our lives. I hope you enjoy the conversation!Show notes available at drchatterjee.com/53Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee/Follow me on facebook.com/DrChatterjee/Follow me on twitter.com/drchatterjeeukDISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Johann Hari, an inspirational author known for his extensive research on mental health, shares profound insights from his global journey. He emphasizes the transformative power of community through a touching story from Berlin, showcasing how connections can combat isolation and depression. The discussion tackles the impact of social media on mental well-being and highlights the importance of addressing root causes of depression, rather than just symptoms. Hari also offers inspiring tips for improving our mental health in an increasingly disconnected world.