#314 Bryony Gordon on OCD, Overcoming Addiction and Building Mental Resilience

<p>CAUTION: Contains swearing and themes of an adult nature.</p><br><p>Today’s guest has a remarkable life story which includes addiction, mental health struggles, eating disorders, guilt, shame and so much more. Bryony Gordon is a prominent mental health campaigner, a journalist and a bestselling author. Bryony’s latest book, <a href="https://amzn.to/3gvB2di" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Let Down Your Hair</em></a><em>, </em>is a novel about social media, mental health, self-esteem and body image<em>. </em>She’s also recently released a Sunday Times bestseller, <a href="https://amzn.to/3VnjIWF" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>No Such Thing As Normal: What My Mental Illness Has Taught Me About Mental Wellness</em></a> in paperback form.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>You may be familiar with Bryony from her <em>Telegraph</em> column, her many books, or her <em>Mad World</em> podcast. Perhaps you’re one of the 206,000 people who follow her updates on Instagram. Or, maybe you know her as the Founder of peer support group Mental Health Mates. Even if you’re new to Bryony and her work, you’re about to get to know her pretty well,&nbsp;thanks to her hallmark honesty and authenticity when it comes to telling her story.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>We begin this conversation by talking about Bryony’s experience of obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. This condition is often misunderstood, with people reducing it to being ‘just’ about excessive tidiness or needing things in order. But Bryony shares the reality of the dark, obsessive thoughts that ruled her life from her early teens. She’s unflinchingly honest about how it led her into alcoholism, drug addiction and bulimia.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>We also talk about her surprising relationship with marathon running, her new-found commitment to exercise for how it makes her <em>feel</em>, not how it makes her look and the coping mechanisms she uses to deal with the negative voices inside her head.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Although she would be the first to say she’s a ‘wo