The Health Review

Self-Compassion Expert on Why Coming Home to Yourself is The Key to Happiness | Suzy Reading

When did you last feel totally safe in your body? When did you last connect with yourself on a deep level? For most of us, those questions sound almost foreign — and that, according to today's guest, is precisely the problem. In this episode of The Health Review I sit down with Suzy Reading — chartered psychologist, yoga teacher, coach and author of ten books, including her latest How to Be Selfish. Suzy has spent two decades at the intersection of neuroscience, somatic therapy and psychology, and her work keeps coming back to one simple idea: that caring for yourself isn't selfish. It's the foundation of everything else. This is one of the most warm, honest and moving conversations I've had on the show — and one that I think will stay with you. Suzy shares her own deeply personal story of reaching what she calls energetic bankruptcy — becoming a new mother at the same time as losing her father to motor neuron disease, and what happened when she gave everything to everyone else and had nothing left. What she found her way back to became the heart of this book. We cover: Why mental health is not just something that happens in our head — it's a function of our nervous system, our breathing and our bodies What somatic therapy actually is and why it reaches places that talking alone can't The hand on heart practice — a 30-second somatic hold that shifts your nervous system out of stress response Why we've been systematically distracted from ourselves — and why sitting with yourself can feel genuinely terrifying The difference between guilt and shame — and why shame is the hidden current running beneath so much of our exhaustion and self-criticism Why the most successful people are often running hardest from their own sense of not-enoughness Energetic bankruptcy — what it feels like and how to find your way back The seven steps to coming home to yourself from How to Be Selfish Why a healed nervous system doesn't mean being calm all the time — it means being responsive Awe hunting — Suzy's favourite spiritual practice and why it's more accessible than you think Why self-compassion is the single most important thing for being a healthy and whole human being This episode is for you if: You've been giving everything to everyone else and feel like you have very little left. You feel disconnected from yourself and don't quite know where to start. You feel guilty every time you try to prioritise yourself. Or you simply want permission — backed by psychology and neuroscience — to finally stop abandoning yourself. About Suzy Reading: Suzy Reading is a chartered psychologist, yoga teacher, coach and the author of ten books on self-care and mental health, including How to Be Selfish, The Self-Care Revolution and Stand Tall Like a Mountain. She is one of the UK's most trusted voices on wellbeing and has spent two decades helping people build sustainable habits for head, heart and body. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health. Topics: self-care | self-compassion | somatic therapy | nervous system healing | burnout recovery | energetic bankruptcy | shame | self-abandonment | coming home to yourself | inner child | how to be selfish | Suzy Reading | somatic holds | awe hunting | perimenopause mental health | self-worth | emotional numbness | self-limiting beliefs | yoga therapy | psychologist self-care | seven steps self-care | nervous system regulation | hand on heart practice | wellbeing psychology Suzy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzyreading Suzy's website: https://www.suzyreading.co.uk Follow The Health Review: https://www.instagram.com/the.health.review ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Wearable That Treats Depression at Home Without Medication — Flow Neuroscience's CMO Explains

One in four adults in England is living with anxiety or depression. That's not a statistic from a bad year — it's the finding of the most rigorous long-term mental health survey in the world, and the trajectory has been heading in one direction for three decades. We are, by any measure, in a mental health crisis. And the treatments we have been relying on — antidepressants, talking therapies with months-long waiting lists — are simply not reaching enough people, fast enough. In this episode of The Health Review I sit down with Dr Kultar Garcha — Chief Medical Officer at Flow Neuroscience, and a GP with deep experience in mental health treatment. Flow has built something genuinely remarkable — a wearable medical device that treats depression at home, without medication, by delivering gentle electrical stimulation to the precise area of the brain that goes underactive in depression. It has now been used by over 60,000 people across Europe and the UK, is being prescribed across seven NHS trusts and over ten services, and recently became the first device of its kind to receive FDA clearance in the US — backed by the largest ever at-home tDCS randomised controlled trial, published in Nature Medicine. We cover: Why depression and anxiety rates have risen so sharply — and why young people are being hit hardest What depression actually feels like from the inside — and why around half of people who have it are never diagnosed What's happening in the brain during depression — the prediction engine, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and why it's the key target How Flow works — transcranial direct current stimulation explained in plain terms, and what it actually feels like to use it The Nature Medicine trial — 57.5% of patients in remission at 10 weeks, with responses beginning as early as three weeks Why 67% of patients already on antidepressants achieved remission when they added Flow The NHS results — including an 80% reduction in depression symptoms and up to 75% drop in suicidal ideation in crisis services The side effect profile compared to SSRIs — and what Dr Kultar wasn't told about antidepressant side effects during his own medical training Why some people feel trapped on antidepressants and can't get off them — and what alternatives now exist This episode is for you if: You or someone you love has struggled with depression or anxiety and hasn't found the right treatment. You've been on antidepressants and want to understand your options. Or you're simply curious about where mental health treatment is heading and why brain stimulation technology is one of the most exciting frontiers in medicine right now. About Dr Kultar Garcha: Dr Kultar Garcha is Chief Medical Officer at Flow Neuroscience and a practising GP with extensive experience in mental health treatment. He oversees all real-world evidence and safety data at Flow and is currently leading research into Flow's applications for women's mental health including perimenopause, postnatal depression and PMDD. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health or treatment. Visit Flow Neuroscience: https://www.flowneuroscience.com/ Use the code THEHEALTHREVIEW for 15% off the Flow Device. Follow The Health Review: https://www.instagram.com/the.health.review/ ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Hidden Psychological Cost of Our Tech Obsession — A Cyberpsychologist Explains | Dr Elaine Kasket

Technology is doing something to us. Not just to our productivity or our sleep — but to our relationships, our identity, our capacity for genuine human connection. And most of us are only just beginning to understand the scale of it. In this episode of The Health Review I sit down with Dr Elaine Kasket — chartered counselling psychologist, cyberpsychologist, author of Reset: Rethinking Your Digital World for a Happier Life and one of the world's leading experts on how technology reshapes our inner lives. Elaine has spent two decades at the intersection of psychology and technology and brings something genuinely rare to this conversation — the clinical depth to understand what is happening to us psychologically and the intellectual honesty to say it clearly. This is one of those conversations that makes you want to put your phone down the moment it's over. We cover: How technology is deliberately designed to manipulate our behaviour and push us toward specific usage patterns — and why knowing that isn't enough to change it Why we have developed a genuine psychological dependency on our devices The concept of attentional infidelity — being physically present with someone while mentally elsewhere — and what it costs our closest relationships Why a genuine relationship with AI is not possible — the absence of reciprocity and what that means for the millions of people forming emotional bonds with AI companions The fundamental human needs that technology exploits — to be seen, to feel important, to know that our thoughts and feelings matter to someone What research shows happens to infants when a parent's attention is captured by a phone — and why it matters more than we realise Why serving others remains one of the most powerful sources of meaning and happiness — and how technology quietly erodes our capacity for that This episode is for you if: You've ever felt uneasy about your relationship with your phone but haven't been able to articulate why. You're curious about what AI relationships actually mean for human connection. Or you simply want to understand what technology is really doing to the people you love. About Dr Elaine Kasket: Dr Elaine Kasket is a chartered counselling psychologist, cyberpsychologist and author of Reset: Rethinking Your Digital World for a Happier Life and All the Ghosts in the Machine. She is a visiting professor at the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath and has spent two decades exploring how technology reshapes wellbeing, relationships, work and identity. She appears regularly on the BBC, CNN, ITV and beyond. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health. Topics: cyberpsychology | technology and relationships | AI relationships | attentional infidelity | screen time | digital dependency | phone addiction | human connection | AI companions | technology and mental health | digital wellbeing | Elaine Kasket | Reset book | technology psychology | social media psychology | phone and relationships | AI and loneliness | digital identity | technology manipulation | human needs | meaning and purpose Dr Kasket's website: https://www.elainekasket.com/ Follow The Health Review: https://www.instagram.com/the.health.review/ ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Meditation, Spirituality and How to Connect With Your True Essence | Jillian Lavender

So many of us think we can't meditate. We've tried it, lasted forty seconds before the to-do list arrived in our mind, decided we were doing it wrong and never went back. But according to today's guest, that experience doesn't mean you failed at meditation. It means nobody taught you how to actually do it. In this episode of The Health Review I sit down with Jillian Lavender — one of the UK's leading Vedic meditation teachers, co-director of the London Meditation Centre and author of Why Meditate? Because it Works. Jillian has been teaching meditation for over 20 years and has helped thousands of people build a practice that genuinely transforms their lives. Her own journey began in the corporate world, exhausted, running on caffeine and wondering why nothing was helping — until a mentor mentioned that meditation had transformed their sleep. What followed changed everything. This is one of the most accessible, myth-busting and inspiring conversations I've had on the show. If you've ever thought meditation wasn't for you — this episode will change your mind. We cover: Jillian's own story — from corporate exhaustion to becoming one of the UK's most respected meditation teachers The three types of meditation — concentration, mindfulness and Vedic — and why the differences matter enormously Why Vedic meditation is so different — a mantra-based practice the mind loves and that becomes effortless once learned Why you can meditate anywhere — on the tube, in a waiting room, between meetings — using either your voice or your mind The most common myths around meditation — you don't have to clear your mind, sit still for hours or be spiritually inclined Why if you can think, you can meditate — and what that actually means 20 minutes twice a day — how this practice makes your day so much more productive that you genuinely make back the time Spirituality, essence and what meditation opens up when you go deeper into the practice How to connect with your true self through a consistent practice — and what that feels like This episode is for you if: You've tried meditation and given up, you think you're too busy, too restless or too much of a sceptic. Or you're simply curious about what Vedic meditation actually is and why so many people describe it as life-changing. About Jillian Lavender: Jillian Lavender is one of the UK's leading Vedic meditation teachers and co-director of the London Meditation Centre. She has been teaching meditation for over 20 years and is the author of Why Meditate? Because it Works. She teaches people from all walks of life — from complete beginners to seasoned practitioners — and is known for making meditation feel completely accessible and natural. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health. Topics: Vedic meditation | how to meditate | learn to meditate | meditation for beginners | types of meditation | mantra meditation | mindfulness meditation | Jillian Lavender | London Meditation Centre | why meditate | meditation myths | meditation and productivity | meditation and sleep | meditation and spirituality | meditation and burnout | corporate burnout | meditation practice | if you can think you can meditate | meditation for busy people | meditation and essence | spiritual practice | meditation transformation | why meditation works Jillian's website: http://www.jillianlavender.com/ The London Meditation Centre: https://www.londonmeditationcentre.com/ This week's sponsor, vagus nerve stimulator SONA has offered The Health Review listeners 15% off SONA. Use code THR at checkout or access the discount automatically here: https://sona.help/?im_ref=SkfXugw-kxyZWz0TwYRUY2%3AdUkuReuR-SzLO0Q0&sharedid=&irpid=7022575&irgwc=1&afsrc=1 Follow The Health Review: https://www.instagram.com/the.health.review/ ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

How to Stop Watching Your Life from the Shadows and Become Its Main Character | Simon Alexander Ong

Most of us are incredibly busy, but busyness and productivity are not the same thing...and somewhere in the hampster wheel of accumulating more, achieving more and doing more, a lot of us have lost the thread back to ourselves. In this episode of The Health Review I sit down with Simon Alexander Ong — life coach, keynote speaker and bestselling author of Energize, published by Penguin and winner of the Business Book Award for Wellness and Wellbeing. Simon's own journey began in the corporate world — until burnout forced him to stop and ask some very different questions about how he was actually living. What he discovered on the other side became the foundation for one of the most compelling frameworks for human performance and personal fulfilment I've come across. This is a conversation about slowing down enough to know yourself, about the difference between a life lived on autopilot and one lived with real intention, and about what it takes to stop watching your life from the shadows, and as Simon puts it, step into it as its 'main character'. We cover: The four dimensions of energy — physical, mental, emotional and spiritual — and how to tap into each of them more deliberately Why being busy has become a status symbol — and why it's one of the most expensive mistakes we make The fear of other people's opinions and how it keeps high achievers stuck in lives they didn't consciously choose The alter ego technique — how figures like Kobe Bryant and Beyonce used a separate persona to access courage and boldness without self-doubt What it means to become the main character of your own life — and the practical steps to actually do it Spiritual practices that work — gratitude, solitude, and the power of spending real time with yourself How to get clear on your values, your purpose and what you actually want — and then do something about it About Simon Alexander Ong: Simon Alexander Ong is a life coach, keynote speaker and bestselling author of Energize, published by Penguin Random House and winner of the Business Book Award for Wellness and Wellbeing. He works with leaders, entrepreneurs and organisations to help them unlock their full potential through the intelligent management of energy rather than time. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health. Topics: life design | purpose | spiritual energy | four types of energy | energize Simon Alexander Ong | how to find your purpose | becoming the main character | alter ego technique | Kobe Bryant Black Mamba | fear of judgment | high performance | burnout recovery | personal growth | self awareness | productivity vs busyness | slow down | know yourself | life coaching | human potential | energy management | living with intention | autopilot living | fulfillment Follow Simon: https://www.instagram.com/simonalexandero Follow The Health Review: https://www.instagram.com/the.health.review Sign up to The Health Review newsletter: https://thehealthreview.beehiiv.com/ ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.